OPINION: Pitso has earned his Afcon shot

Pitso Mosimane was in fine form at Safa House last week as he received his Caf Pro License from the South African Football Association.

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“Jingles” was waxing lyrical about how he would like his next step to be a bid for the Africa Cup of Nations title, which presumably rules him out of taking the Bafana Bafana job again any time soon.

Jokes aside, it would be fantastic to see a South African at the helm of one of the continent’s top teams, and it would also be a natural progression for Mosimane, given his success in continental club football, at Mamelodi Sundowns and more recently at Al-Ahly.

Ahly’s struggles since Mosimane left have highlighted even further the excellent job he did at the Cairo giants, and his reputation in Egypt would surely make that the most likely destination for him at some point, outside of South Africa, as a senior national team coach.

Mosimane brushed off a question about whether he would go back to Ahly, with fans said to be calling for his return at the Red Devils. Ahly are currently only third in the Egyptian Premier League, some 11 points behind bitter Cairo rivals Zamalek, with the pressure surely heating up on Mosimane’s replacement Ricardo Soares.

Going back, however, is not something that Mosimane has seemed keen on at any stage of his career, and it may well be hard for him in any case to repeat the two Caf Champions League titles and two Fifa World Club Cup bronze medals he won in his first spell in charge.

Instead, with Mosimane flirting with the idea of returning to international coaching, what price the Egyptian national team turning to him to lead them? The immediate answer is that the chances are not high, with Rui Vitoria signing a four-year contract in July 2022 to lead the Pharaohs following the departure of Carlos Queiroz.

These things can change quickly in football, but in this light it is pertinent to look at what African countries (that have a shot at an Afcon title) may be actively looking for a new leader.

Mosimane already said he has some offers, but apparently none that match his lofty ambitions. The five African teams that have qualified for the 2022 Fifa World Cup – Cameroon, Senegal, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia, are probably the best to look at – as a poor performance in Qatar could
inevitably lead to a search for a new leader for any of the five.

And Morocco stand out here, with the Moroccan Football Federation having only recently sacked Vahid Halilhodži?. Walid Regragui, the head coach of the Wydad Casablanca side that beat Mosimane’s Ahly in the final of this year’s Caf Champions League, is expected to lead the Atlas Lions in Qatar.

Could a twist of fate ultimately see Mosimane replace Regragui at the helm of Morocco?

Wherever he ends up next he has done his country proud, and we can only watch the next step with excitement and anticipation.