Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane does not believe that he is out of reach and says South African teams can afford him if they really want him.
He also admitted that taking off their medals while on the podium immediately after Wydad Casablanca defeated them in the CAF Champions League final was “not right and was not nice”.
Mosimane is in the country for a few days and will return to Morocco for a coaching course before returning to Egypt.
“It’s not about affordability. Do you want to tell me that Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates do not have money to pay a coach?
“No, what we are talking about is the culture that we cannot pay a coach R2-million a month. But if you have sponsors you can do it,” said Mosimane.
“In South Africa sponsorship is big. Maybe we need to investigate how much money the sponsors are giving to the clubs, and then we will realise this thing is doable.”
The former Bafana Bafana coach said he is not afraid of challenges and to start at the bottom at any club he decides to join. “I’ve been a guy who comes and rebuilds teams. At Sundowns, they were 14th on the log when I joined them. SuperSport United as well, they were 14th. So, I am not afraid to rebuild, but you must put your money where your mouth is… you cannot rebuild and not invest money.
“Football is not about how good the coach is, you must have good players. Why is Barcelona where it is today? No money, no top players. Football at the highest level is about money.”
Mosimane says that the reason he and his players took off the silver medals after the Champions League final defeat was because they were angry that CAF allowed the match to be staged in Morocco.
“We do not condone it, it’s wrong. But also, two wrongs do not make a right. Why put the game in Morocco? My players were angry and were asking how they were going to win in Morocco. The dice was loaded against us. Would I keep a silver medal to tell my son that I came second? No. I believe in the gold medal.”
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