South Africa as a whole can take heart from Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane, assistant coach Cavin Johnson for their CAF final win.
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.
