Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane already misses former Orlando Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic‚ he said after his team’s 3-1 MTN8 quarterfinal victory against Bloemfontein Celtic at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday night.
Mosimane said he will miss how Sredojevic made Pirates Sundowns’ greatest rivals over the past two seasons‚ and pushed Downs’ coach competitively.
Pirates finished runners-up to Sundowns in the past two Premiership seasons.
Sredojevic resigned in a bombshell announcement made by Pirates late on Friday night. He has been strongly linked to Egyptian giants Zamalek.
Rulani Mokwena — Mosimane’s former Sundowns assistant-coach‚ who was Sredojevic’s assistant at Pirates — started as Bucs’ caretaker coach with a 1-0 MTN8 quarterfinal loss against Highlands Park on Saturday night‚ having had less than a day in the job.
“I was very sad, ‘Micho’ [Sredojevic] is a personal friend of mine‚” Mosimane said. “Micho gave me Denis Onyango. I have known Micho for many years‚ from when he was still at Saint-George [in Ethiopia].
“He invited me to a Cecafa tournament to see players‚ and he highlighted Denis and other guys when I was still at SuperSport United.
“I sent him a text that I’m saddened by him leaving. We had a very good‚ friendly competition. We never had a go at each other. It was professional. And he’s a professional guy.”
Sundowns meet Cape Town City in a league match at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Tuesday night.
