[ad_1]
The now two-time winner of the African Champions League explained what happened in the locker room at halftime during the final on Friday night in Cairo.
Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane admitted that he had his doubts during the break of the Caf Champions League final against Zamalek at Cairo’s International Stadium on Friday night.
Zamalek were seeking their sixth Champions League title and their first since 2002, and Al Ahly were seeking a ninth crown, their first since 2013, having lost in two finals since then.
In a tight and exciting match, Al Ahly took the lead after five minutes thanks to Amr Al Sulaya. But the whites fought back 25 minutes later through Shikabala. In the end, the winner came in the 86th minute via Mohamed Magdi when Mosimane claimed his second Champions League title as head coach after winning it with Mamelodi Sundowns in 2016.
Typically confident and authoritative and not short of words, Mosimane admitted feeling anxious at halftime with scores locked at 1-1 and with pressure to end the club’s seven-year wait to win the title, by his unbelievably standards. high. a lot of time.
So he handled the situation as best he could, preferring to take a backseat to his experienced goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawy.
“Of course I was nervous, but when you fly a plane and face some challenges, you can’t show the passengers how you really feel because they depend on you,” Mosimane told Al Ahly TV, quoted by Kingfut.
“I let Mohamed El-Shennawy talk to the players during the break. His speech was powerful and effective, while I waited in another room because he understands their culture and they will understand what he is saying. My role is to talk about the technical aspects, ”continued the former Bafana Bafana coach.
“You also have to listen to the people around you and try to see and listen to everyone and respect their culture and religion and make them accept you. Then you share your vision and your style of play with them. “
It is this ability to humble himself when necessary and adapt to the environment that is one of Mosimanes’ strengths and he will surely endure it well, during his time in Egypt and beyond.
“All things must be done in a rational way and you must not just sell people an idea or a dream. You have to be precise and know their strengths and weaknesses to correct them, “explained Mosimane.
“The main question we asked ourselves was why hasn’t the club won this trophy in the last seven years? And after the first 45 minutes, the team wasn’t sure if we would win the match, which is a normal feeling considering we haven’t won it in seven years.
“You have to understand the situation you are in. I came to train a great team in a very critical period and that’s why I couldn’t start everything from scratch, but I had to start implementing my ideas little by little ”.
