Pitso Mosimane: 5 Ways Mamelodi Sundowns Would Benefit from His Return

Mamelodi Sundowns have been reported to be in talks with Pitso Mosimane over the possibility of returning to the club this year.

Mosimane is Sundowns’ most successful coach following his eight-year tenure between 2012 and 2020, when he won five league titles as well as the club’s only CAF Champions League crown.

The tactician has since coached in the Middle East, gaining more experience, and is now rumoured to be open to taking over at Sundowns as the reign of current coach Miguel Cardoso draws closer to ending.

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While his potential return has divided opinion among fans and observers, there are reasons why Sundowns would benefit from the highly-experienced 61-year-old.

There is a reason Sundowns are called the Brazilians. The ‘Yellow Nation’ was used to a swashbuckling style of play from Mosimane’s team before Rulani Mokwena took it a notch higher.

Sundowns were known for high intensity football that dominated possession while wingers and full-backs bombed into the box to cause more problems for the opposition when ‘Jingles’ was in charge.

However, this identity has been lost under Cardoso, whose teams are not good on the eye and win games in moments and individual quality, rather than well-knit tactical patterns that subdue the opponent.

Mosiman’s presence in the dugout was akin to Sir Alex Ferguson’s when he was manager of Manchester United. When he stood on the touchline, his squad, opposition players, coaches and even referees felt it and whatever he said reverberated across.

The 61-year-old is highly demanding and will use his standing as one of the greats to get the tiniest of advantages for his team even if it means a little intimidation to the match officials.

These little details matter in football and they can be the difference between winning and losing but Cardoso does not have this.

Since Mosimane left in 2020, Sundowns have kept winning the league and competed well in the Champions League, including losing last season’s final, but they have won just two domestic cups.

It seems the Brazilians have decided that local cup competitions are secondary to their ambitions as they have not been taking them seriously with three cup finals lost in a little over two years to teams they should have easily dispatched.

While the PSL and Champions League remains the Holy Grail, domestic cups add to the pride and swell the trophy cabinet and this is something Mosimane would be looking to restore.

While Mosimane worked at Sundowns before the arrival of current Sporting Director Flemming Berg and had more control and say over which player was signed, he would certainly demand to have a final say on whoever is recruited.

This is one the reasons believed to have pushed Rulani Mokwena out of Sundowns but Mosimane is different. If he has no say, he would not even consider returning as he demands to be involved, given he likes players who fit in how he wants to play and not what others think would fit him.

It will be a sticking point but one that would eventually benefit Sundowns who have been leaning towards Europe and South America for players in recent years, abandoning Mosimane’s preference for the domestic and African market first, before looking overseas.

In the modern world of football, how a coach manages the dressing room can be the difference between whether he keeps his job or not.

Mosimane’s stature and experience at Egyptian giants Al Ahly and in Saudi Arabia as well as the United Arab Emirates and Iran have given him good grounding on how to manage multi-cultural dressing rooms like the one at Sundowns, where players come from countries like South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Uganda, Brazil, Portugal and Chile among others.

Not that Cardoso has lost the dressing room but being South African and having such experience gives Mosimane a massive advantage.