A rival coach in Saudi Arabia is singing Al Ahli Saudi head coach Pitso Mosimane’s praises for turning around the sleeping giant.
Ahli was demoted from the topflight at the end of last season after a dismal run in the elite league of the Western Asian country.
The Royal, as Ahli are affectionately by their fans, started the season in unfamiliar territory.
The 2012 Asian Champions League runners-up had played five matches in the second tier when Mosimane took over.
They won two, drew two and lost one, leaving them in seventh place after picking eight points.
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Ahli was four points behind early pacesetters Al-Akhdoud with a desire to get back into the top-tier league.
Seven months later, Mosimane has picked 50 points, losing only two games in 21, putting the team at the summit of Saudi Arabia’s Division One.
Ahli is set to return to the topflight and is on course to win the title.
PITSO MOSIMANE HAILED
Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Giovani Solinas, who is in charge of Al Faisaly after taking over last month, has hailed Mosimane.
The two meet in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night in a decisive encounter set for the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah.
This will be Solinas’ third match in charge, having drawn on his third return to the club and lost in his second.
Al Faisaly is in fifth place after amassing 43 points from 26 matches, 15 points behind Ahli.
“It’s a pleasure for me to meet Pitso again because he’s my friend,” Solinas told iDiski Times.
“I have a good relationship with him, and I like the football style of Mosimane. So it’s a great pleasure to fight with Pitso again because he’s an excellent coach, and everyone can learn from him.”
He said, “Ahli has improved a lot” and is more formidable under ‘Jingles’. Having been in Saudi twice before with the same club, Solinas believes Mosimane’s side “doesn’t deserve to be playing in Division One but in the Premier League”.