The ex-Mamelodi Sundowns coach says they were not scared despite the Bavarians’ gigantic status
Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane has accepted they were beaten by “superior” opponents during Monday’s 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar in the Fifa Club World Cup semi-finals.
A Robert Lewandowski brace sealed Bayern’s dominant display and ended Al Ahly’s hopes of reaching the final of the tournament.
With the European champions having enjoyed a stellar Uefa Champions League run last season which included thrashing giants Barcelona 8-2 in the once-off quarter-final, Mosimane found a reason to defend Al Ahly conceding just two goals.
“I don’t know if there’s any coach who looks happy after he loses the match. It’s my first defeat‚ ever since I’ve been Ahly for the last four‚ five months‚” said Mosimane as per Times Live.
“So you’ve got to understand how I feel. And I hate losing. We prepared hard for this game. And to lose … is a bitter pill on those [preparations]‚ even though we have to accept that we played Bayern.
“You’re saying we are scared – I don’t know about that word. But I will respect your opinion. But we are not scared. We just played against a big team that pushed us back.
“It’s not to say we want to stay back – they pushed us back. And you have to accept that‚ when you play against a superior team. You can never be opening your midfield and a free flow to go and score the goals. This is the team that put eight goals against Barcelona.
“So we are not scared. We are playing the proper football and we thought maybe we would get one chance before the 80th minute‚ and maybe we can get something in the second half and then we can risk it. But we are not scared – sorry.”
It was Mosimane’s first defeat in 23 matches at the helm of the African champions, having arrived in Cairo in September 2020.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach and Al Ahly will look to pick themselves up on Thursday when they face Copa Libertadores champions Palmeiras in a battle for bronze.
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