JOHANNESBURG - Tanzania’s Young Africans SC coach Cedric Kaze on Wednesday hailed the exploits of Pitso Mosimane in his brief time in charge of Egyptian giants Al Ahly.
“He is an inspiration to every African coach who is working very hard to get to the highest football level in Africa and beyond. He has taught us a very good lesson that if you work hard, you can get anywhere. Now, an African coach is coaching the best club in the world,” Kaze told CafOnline.com.
Kaze was reacting to the achievements of the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach, who led Al Ahly to a third- place finish at the Fifa Club World Cup in Qatar last week.
It was only the second time that Al Ahly had achieved this feat since 2006.
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Mosimane is the first South African to win a medal at a Fifa world event, and the first non-Egyptian African to coach the record African Champions League champions and current holders.
Kaze said Mosimane’s accomplishments prove that hard work pays and that it is wrong for coaches in Africa to set themselves limits of where they can coach.
“The meaning of that is very huge and it should give every African coach a boost to believe in what we are doing, to work very hard and to know that there are no limits.”
The highly-rated Burundian coach said his immediate target is to lead Yanga - as Young Africans are known - into domestic and continental glory.
“My ambition is to help Yanga reach the summit, to win trophies and to go far in African competitions. I know I have the knowledge and the ambition to succeed after that in North Africa and in the world.
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“I believe that we, African coaches, put ourselves a limit. In future, I want to reach a very good level. I know that it is going to come by working very hard and taking opportunities when they come. But first I should do well where I am,” Kaze said.
Currently, the Barcelona Academy and Germany-trained coach led Yanga to top Tanzania’s elite league, having won a national cup last month.
Kaze is a celebrated coach has won league titles and silverware in Burundi, before embarking on a coaching adventure in Canada. He secured the Yanga coaching job last October.
African News Agency (ANA)