Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane has explained why he asked for the shirt of Chelsea player Mason Mount during the 2022 Club World Cup.
Mosimane had recently led Al Ahly to their second consecutive Club World Cup bronze medals after beating AFC representatives Al-Hilal 4-0 in the third-place decider game.
Regarding why he asked for Chelsea’s Mason Mount’s shirt, Pitso replied: “I asked for Mount’s shirt but it wasn’t for me, my daughter wanted it.”
The South African trainer also talked about his encounter with Thomas Tuchel.
“Thomas Tuchel, I’m not moved so much by what he said to me, I’m moved by him walking up to me, I’m there on the queue minding my business.
“I mean I see Thomas Tuchel coming, the guy moved away from there to come to me and say things to me.
“They speak of research, they know who you are, they know what you do, they know who you coached before.
“They know what you have achieved, they care to know, he said only inspiring things. You just get humbled by this guy who has won the UEFA Champions League.”
On how it feels to be Al Ahly head coach, Mosimane added: “I played in Europe, but I never saw anything like this.
“In Al Ahly, if you don’t win the Egyptian Premier League, the Champions League, the Super Cup, and if you don’t go to the Club World Cup, you leave.
“In Al Ahly, a draw is a disaster and a loss is a funeral, it’s something that I’ve never seen before.
“Here I can’t walk freely in the streets. When I arrived in Egypt I was naive enough to visit a shopping mall but I had to leave because many loving fans approached me for photos.
“But now I learned a way to go out more freely, the players taught me.”
Kingfut.com
