Management didn't listen to me: Mosimane opens up about tough working conditions at Al-Ahli
Image: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
Pitso Mosimane has revealed the tough conditions he had to endure along the way while leading Saudi Arabian fallen giants Al-Ahli back to the big time.
The highly-rated South African coach helped the Jeddah-based club to achieve a swift return to the Saudi Pro League by winning the Yelo League.
In an interview with Saudi Arabia TV channel Al Arabiya, Mosimane spoke about how the club’s leadership didn’t heed his advice on player recruitment, in addition to him, his technical team and players not being paid their salaries on time.
Mosimane, who hasn't been paid his salary for five months, said he sometimes met new signings for the first time at training.
“I’m not the number one person in the team. The number one person in the team is the president. The number two person is the vice-president and I’m number three,” Mosimane said.
“I recommended the players, I gave them the players that can take us to promotion (but) they brought their own players.
“I saw (Nicolas) Milesi at training and (Vinicius) Amaral. I knew they were talking to him, but I suggested another player and suddenly I saw him (Amaral) in my office, and they said here is a new player, I said OK.”
Mosimane said Uruguayan Milesi and Amaral of Brazil didn’t help the side to win the Yelo League and gain promotion to the top tier.
“But you must remember Amaral, Milesi, these players when they came, we were number one on the log,” Mosimane said.
“So, they didn’t put us there. They found us on top of the log until the last match (of the season).
“The players who really contributed are Saudi (players) — Hicham (Faik), (Ryad) Boudebouz, Bastos and then we got a very good football player, (Madou) Barrow.
“The Saudis (players) have done a good job for me, and I became closer to them because these are the people who took us to number one.”
Mosimane’s future with Ahli hangs in the balance and his recent statements may have worsened his relationship with his employers, who are in financial trouble.
The club president Walid Moaz was quoted in the media as saying: “Pitso Mosimane performed well with the team, but the ambition is greater.”
However, Mosimane gave a TV interview saying he has a clause in his contract that guarantees “an extension” should Ahli be promoted.
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