BY many accounts, Patrice Motsepe has made the right decision to tie down Pitso Mosimane to a long term bumper deal.
The move is the clearest sign of commitment by the Mamelodi Sundowns president to have his nouveau-riche club dine at the Champions League football top table.
Mosimane has earned his stripes... and certainly his multi-million rand four-year contract.
He has demonstrated his ambition to develop the Sundowns brand through regular Champions League appearances, and has also proven his team can harbour realistic chances of qualifying for the Fifa Club World Cup.
This is not to mention the consistent delivery of trophies on the domestic front. At the press conference, Motsepe and Mosimane ticked off some key questions.
Motsepe wants Mosimane to become the “Sir Alex Ferguson” of local football. Mosimane has evolved as a coach and he will not be complacent in spite of his growing popularity.
He is treating the partnership like a marriage. But the question remains of new head of the technical department, Jose Ramon Alexanko, the first being: Do the club need someone for the role?
Motsepe waxed lyrical about the Spaniard, pointing out that Alexanko had captained Barcelona, as if that such a glittering past automatically qualifies him for the job. Part of the reason Mosimane stalled on a new deal was that he wanted clarity on certain roles going forward.
Who is going to scout and sign the players for the senior team? Is that now Alexanko’s role?
But would the environment continue to be conducive for Mosimane to perform his role with the shadow of Alexanko looming large over him... just as Jacob Zuma’s shadow loomed over then President Thabo Mbeki after the historic Polokwane conference.
Fact is that the role of technical director has never quite been defined in SA football. It’s a fancy title that seems to carry weight and significance in European football and, to a greater extend, in local rugby structures.
We’ve seen failed coaches become technical directors, directing proven coaches on how to do the jobs they themselves couldn’t do.
Mosimane succeeded where many foreign coaches have failed, achieving unparalleled success without foreign influence, but mainly through the contributions of the locals in his technical team and in the other structures.
The technical director role creates uncertainly for the head coach, who then has to keep looking over his shoulders fearing for his job. Will the new set-up work for Downs?
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Kgomotso Sethusha
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