Fadlu Davids has backed Pitso Mosimane to work his magic and win promotion at his new Saudi Arabia club.
Mosimane, a brilliant turnaround strategist, joined Al Ahli Saudi FC last month, with the sole mandate of getting the club back to the topflight league. The Jeddah based club dented their proud history when they were relegated from the Saudi Professional League in the 2021-2022 season.
Davids, who recently had a short stint as assistant coach at Russian giants Lokomotiv Moscow, has thrown his support behind Mosimane to bring back the glory days at the club popularly known as Al Malaki (The Royal) among its legions of fans.
“We all know what Pitso has achieved both here and in Africa. Al Ahli definitely have the right man for the job. I know he will have the same huge success that he breathed into Al Ahly in Egypt,” said Davids.
Mosimane left Egypt in June after guiding Al Ahly to two Caf Champions League titles, two Super Cups, and an Egyptian Cup. True to form, Jingles has hit the ground running at the helm of his new club.
He has notched two wins and a draw in his first three games to catapult Al Ahli to third place, and just a point behind log leaders Al Faisaly, who however have a game in hand.
“The move to Saudi Arabia is a huge step in the right direction for Pitso following his success in Egypt. I know that some people were saying that he should not be coaching a Division Two club but the level of football in Saudi Arabia is huge. Players such as former Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo play there and the money is very good. It is a much higher standard than here,” said Davids.
Davids, a former Orlando Pirates coach, underlined that Mosimane’s success continues to shine the world spotlight on South African coaches.
“Hard work pays off and Pitso is a good example of that. We need to follow in his footsteps and continue to upskill ourselves by getting world standard coaching licenses. I am super proud of his achievements and that of coaches like Benni McCarthy (Manchester United), Bradley Carnell who is coaching St Louis City in the USA’s Major League and of course Quinton Fortune, who is a supporting coach at England youth teams,” he said.