Pitso Mosimane: Some little-known facts about the Sundowns coach

One man who can confidently stake a claim to the title of best soccer coach in South Africa is Mamelodi Sundowns' Pitso Mosimane.

The man known as Jingles took over from Dutch legend Johan Neeskens, midway through the 2012/13 season and steered the club from the relegation zone to a ninth-place finish and, in subsequent seasons, the club is yet to finish lower than second in the league and has claimed four titles in his six seasons at the helm.

Mosimane recently led the Tshwane giants to a record ninth league title a second on the bounce and his fourth overall, joining former Sundowns coaches Ted Dimitru and Gordon Igesund, as well as Bidvest Wits mentor Gavin Hunt as the men with the most PSL crowns.

The 55-year-old is however one-up on the trio, having won CAF Champions League in 2016, becoming only the second South African side, after Orlando Pirates, to achieve this feat.

Mosimane cut his teeth under the legendary Jomo SonoSA soccer legend, Jomo Sono built a reputation of unearthing some of the country's most talented footballers, having mentored the likes of Mark Fish and Helman Mkhalele.

Pitso Mosimane was one such player, as he made his professional debut for Jomo Cosmos as an exciting 18-year-old striker.

Was once SA's most expensive playerPitso has every right to take some of the credit for grooming Percy Tau into becoming the best player in the PSL and the most expensive to come out of the local league.

He, himself once held the accolade of being the most expensive South African player.

Mosimane cost Sundowns R60 000 when he made a move to Pretoria from Jomo Cosmos back in 1985.

He won Cosmos the league title on his return to the clubPitso was instrumental in helping Jomo Cosmos walk away with their sole league title 1987.

Then 23, he registered impressive numbers as he found the net 11 times in just 14 appearances for Ezenkosi.

Scored on Bafana debutThe early 1990s saw South Africa welcomed back into the sporting world, meaning talented players finally got to showcase what they could do in international soccer.

Pitso Mosimane made his debut for Bafana in a friendly match against Mauritius and made an immediate impact as he found the back of the net.

That would be his only international goal as he made just three more appearances in Bafana colours.

Has cracked the top ten of best coaches in the worldBafana Bafana's loss has turned out to be Sundowns' gain as Mosimane led the club to CAF Champions League glory back in 2016.

The feat earned him some global recognition as he was named as one of the ten best soccer coaches in the world, according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics.

That very same year, he was named as the African Coach of the Year.

He's a big softiePitso may seem like this tough character who demands a lot from his players but, according to his charges, he's an easygoing fella who isn't too hard to please.

Tags: FeatureT1Mamelodi SundownsPitso Mosimane

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