Johannesburg (AFP) – The 2019/2020 South African Premiership season kicks off Saturday with Mamelodi Sundowns favourites to complete a hat-trick despite uncertainty over the future of multiple title-winning coach Pitso Mosimane.
He is reportedly upset that the 2016 CAF Champions League trophy-holders want to hire an unnamed Spanish technical director, threatening the independence of the four-time Premiership-winning coach.
Media speculation includes Mosimane eyeing a return to the national coach position should England-born Stuart Baxter resign this week amid sustained media and public criticism of him.
Baxter will hold a press conference Friday and many pundits believe he will quit a job worth 490,000 rand ($34,500/31,000 euros) a month, according to a leading weekly newspaper.
Mosimane says his expensively assembled mix of South African, African and South American stars is not ready for the season opener against Pretoria neighbours SuperSport United.
“I do not like this match because it comes at a wrong time for us — we are not ready,” said the 55-year-old coach and former South Africa forward.
“When we played SuperSport last year it was just after returning from a Champions League match in Egypt and we lost 2-0,” he recalled.
Sundowns battled to score regularly at home and in Africa last season having lost Percy Tau and Keagan Dolly to European clubs and Khama Billiat to domestic rivals Kaizer Chiefs.
New Zealand forward Jeremy Brockie was signed last year to replicate his consistent scoring form at SuperSport, but flopped and often fails to make the 18-player matchday squad.
Mosimane has turned to South America for a solution, hiring Uruguayan Mauricio Affonso from Peruvian club Alianza Lima.
Affonso had an eight goals-three assists record with Alianza last season and these are figures the coach will hope to increase in the Premiership.
Sundowns signed Uruguayan midfielder Gaston Sirino from Bolivian outfit Bolivar last year and he quickly became one of the outstanding players at the Pretoria club.
– Ageing stalwarts –
A challenge for Mosimane is that some of his stalwarts are ageing with centre-back Wayne Arendse and national team midfielder Hlompho Kekana both 34.
Orlando Pirates, the only other South African club to be crowned African champions, finished runners-up to Sundowns in the last two seasons and are considered the biggest threat again.
The Soweto Buccaneers have gone five seasons without a trophy and the pressure is on Serbian coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic to deliver silverware during his third season at the helm.
from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/2KlRvfM
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