CAF champ coach Pitso Mosimane teaches Chiefs a lesson

Kaizer Chiefs could have no complaints on Saturday evening, as they were handed a lesson in champion performances by Al Ahly, who took home a 10th Caf Champions League title with a 3-0 thumping of AmaK-hosi at the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca.

Stuart Baxter’s Chiefs had a fairly bright start to the match and had held Ahly at 0-0 until Happy Mashi-ane’s red card shortly before halftime. But there was no doubt Mashiane deserved his dismissal.

The young Chiefs defender’s tackle was a textbook red card, albeit that it required the intervention of VAR – an over-the-top, studs-up ankle-breaker – and after that Chiefs’ hopes of holding Ahly back disappeared into the Moroccan night. Chiefs can console themselves with the fact that they did well, especially in a poor domestic season, to reach the final for the first time.

And South Africa as a whole can take heart from Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane, assistant coach Cavin Johnson, performance analyst Musi Matlaba and fitness trainer Kabelo Rangoaga, a Mzansi quartet who have won a second Champions League title in a row with the Cairo giants.

This time, they did it wire-to-wire, affirming Mosimane as one of the best coaches in continental club football, with his third Champions League winner’s medal now in the bag.