Ahly's new coach Pitso Mosimane is confident he can cope with a different culture in Egypt as he begins a monumental task with Africa's most successful club. Mosamine resigned from his post as the coach of Mamelodi Sundowns, whom he led to five South African league titles and a Champions League crown in eight years, to take over at Ahly on Thursday. Ahly's move for the 56-year-old took many by surprise, given their traditional preference to bring in European coaches. But Mosimane believes he is up to the challenge of managing the record eight-time African champions. "When you are a football coach, you are a professional business person. If Pep Guardiola can leave Spain, go to Germany and then go to England, with different cultures and different languages, so why can't I do the same?" he told Ahly's television channel on Friday. "We are professionals, and football is an international game. You follow football wherever you are, as long as it is football." Mosimane takes over from Swiss Rene Weiler, who turned down Ahly's offer to stay put until the end of their African Champions League campaign, saying the club had declined to give him time to discuss his future with his family back home. Under Weiler, the Red Devils romped to a fifth consecutive Egyptian Premier League title and reached the last four of the Champions League, the competition they crave much. Ahly had not won Africa's blue-riband competition since 2013, losing two successive finals in 2017 and 2018. They face Morocco's Wydad in a mouthwatering two-legged semifinal later this month. Mosimane is aware of the importance of delivering the Champions League title and he believes Ahly are capable of ending their barren run. "We need to see if the mentality is right because Champions League is mentality then there is the tactics, technique and all those things," he added. "The team is strong enough to win the Champions League. If you go to the semifinal, you might as well go to the final, it's a one step. And when you are in the final, you might as well win it." Mosimane will make his debut when Ahly meet Arab Contractors in the Egyptian league on Sunday. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
