Al Ahly mentor Pitso Mosimane has recently added a second CAF Champions League title to his illustrious career haul, just months after taking over from René Weiler. He became only the third coach in the tournament's history to win the title with two different teams (after Oscar Fulloné & Mahmoud El-Gohary). He's also the first to do it in this century. Mosimane was celebrated for CACL victory across the country, with many South Africans taking particular pride in the former Mamelodi Sundowns manager being a homegrown coach. In the latest episode of SL Podcast Extras, online statistician OptaJabu joins the show to discuss Pitso’s illustrious career and how he’s raised the bar, stating “He has set the bar for homegrown coaches. Many of the records and stats we share, are Pitso-related. We should see more records broken by Pitso in the coming years”. OptaJabu also discusses how to catalogue 24 years of PSL history, and how statisticians work with betting sites due their ability to predict matches with incredible accuracy.

MTN8 Legend Brent Carelse joins the SL Podcast to discuss next month’s cup final between Bloem Celtic & Orlando Pirates, travelling the country to meet PSL fans & more!

Former Black Leopards coach Cavin Johnson is joining Al Ahly’s technical team as coach Pitso Mosimane’s assistant. Johnson has managed various teams in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) including Platinum Stars, SuperSport United & AmaZulu. He also holds a CAF Licence, SAFA Pro Licence and a sports management diploma and will work alongside fitness trainer Kabelo Rangoaga and performance analyst Musi Matlaba in Mosimane’s backroom staff. Johnson has already flown out to Cairo, but spoke to the SL Podcast from the airport before his departure. He breaks down the move, stating that the decision to take the opportunity did not need a second thought, stating “He didn’t even have to call me, he could’ve asked in a voice note and I would’ve said yes”. All eyes will be on Al Ahly on October 17, when they take on Wydad Casablanca in the CAF Champions League semi-finals, hoping to earn their ninth title in the competition. In the full podcast, Johnson discusses the challenge of competing at this level and how his PSL experience has prepared him for the task.

Kusasa Stars founder George Frett joins the SL Podcast to discuss the grassroots initiative which has competed on the world’s biggest youth football stage. From Langrug, a small community in Franschhoek, Kusasa stars have twice competed at the Gothia Cup, also known as the World Youth Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Former Black Leopards coach Alan Clark breaks down why his move to Europe was so sudden and so close to PSL restart date.

Golden Knights Soccer Academy founder Katleho Ntsekhe breaks down the challenges of running a grassroots youth development programme.

In issue number 1171 of Soccer Laduma, Teko ‘The General’ Modise named three players who he thinks are strong candidates for the Footballer of the Season award.

When Siphelele Ntshangase joined Kaizer Chiefs, many felt that the Soweto giants had found a playmaker and personality in a similar mould to the likes of Doctor Khumalo, Jabu Pule (now Mahlangu) and the late Scara Ngobese. Ntshangase could not have been happier when he joined from Baroka FC, describing this as a dream move. However, It’s all gone south despite what appeared a bright start. And while players and fans alike love the exciting and entertaining pass technician, the destiny of this player seems in the hands Ernst Middendorp who as yet has not been convinced.

In a Soccer Laduma exclusive, 51-year-old journalist Ricardo Perrone, who works for Brazilian publication UOL, and who was in Paraguay to cover the Ronaldinho imprisonment story gives insight into how the Brazilian public are reacting to one of their favourite son’s recent tangle with the law. Perrone explains, “I can tell you that I really think he is hurting his reputation in Brazil. The people here don’t forget what he did on the field, he is still a great legend, but now people say that he can’t manage his life in a good way.”

A Mamelodi Sundowns transfer target has opened up about the interest in his services but it seems that he is in no rush to make a move to a big club. The Brazilians have been tracking Cape Town City’s left-back, Edmilson Dove for quite some time now and the Siya crew reported in February this year that they may have a fight on their hands should they want to pursue the player, as there is also growing interest from Portugal. However, speaking in this week’s edition of Soccer Laduma, the 25-year-old was asked whether or not he would like to follow in the path of his former teammates, Aubrey Ngoma, Lyle Lakay and Lebogang Manyama who went on to sign for bigger clubs in the country (Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs).

The extremely talented Meshack Maphangule, currently on loan to Chippa United, could quite easily have ended up on the books of Kaizer Chiefs if they had spoken to him sooner. In this week’s edition of Soccer Laduma ‘Shake It’ explains how Bucs beat Chiefs to the punch. “(Laughs) Eish, okay, that one has a simple answer. Pirates came first. By the time Chiefs talked to me, I had already signed a pre-contract with Bucs. Remember my contract at Leopards was coming to an end at the end of the 2017/18 season, so Pirates moved quickly and gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I knew before signing for Pirates that Chiefs wanted me, but the problem was I was not sure if they were going to sign me and it was always my dream to play for a big club like the two clubs. So when Bucs came I couldn’t say no. I had to make sure that I didn’t miss out. Even though I would have loved to play for Chiefs. I am still happy that I joined Pirates.”

Premier Soccer League club owners are guarded about pressing the panic button just yet, but they are fear­ful of the aftermath of the Coronavirus on their bread and butter. Experts say that the real effects of the pan­demic on the Beautiful Game will be felt months down the line – if the domestic league does not resume by early June – but what can be said with certainty is that the economy will be fragile! In addition, Moody’s downgrade has added un­necessary pressure on Mzansi’s already vulner­able financial state. What does this mean for sponsorships in foot­ball? Will it cause clubs to go bust and cause a multi-million rand industry to collapse? In this week’s edition of Soccer Laduma the Siya crew asked some probing questions to PSL CEO Mata Madlala.

Goliath Gaming’s Julio Bianchi, is one of South Africa’s leading professionals in the world of FIFA. The 22-year-old, who competes on PlayStation and has won numerous domestic titles, explains how up-and-comers can become professional gamers in South Africa saying, “I think the most important thing is to start competing online, you know, start playing FIFA Ultimate Team and competing in the weekend league that is played for rankings in South Africa and globally as well. That is obviously also the quickest way other players will recognise you because we know each other already, we face each other almost every week­end, so if someone new pops up we obviously want to know who they are and where they come from.”

The Bundesliga Home Chal­lenge is a unique tourna­ment hosted by the Virtual Bundesliga, and has pitted professional footballers such as Borussia Dortmund defender Achraf Hakimi and Werder Bre­men striker Davie Selke against pro gamers and even referees in the FIFA video game, all from the comfort of their own homes. The Bundesliga’s Alex Chaffer discusses the eGaming phenomenon and his own experiences of commentating on the matches saying, “Football eSports is huge in Germany. The introduction of the Virtual Bundesliga a couple of years ago shows how much it has grown and also the connection that the Bundesliga has made with it along the way. It’s constantly growing and is going to be a huge part of the sporting experience in the years to come. I very much see it as just another sport.”

In edition 1168 of Soccer Laduma, the Siya crew takes a look into the continued speculation around Thulani ‘Tyson’ Hlatsh­wayo and a potential move to Orlando Pirates. Other stories to listen to in Siyagobhoza: · Tau on the move again? · European interest in Middendorp · Chiefs have the edge over Sundowns for Castro

One of Mzansi’s favourite sons has lost his mother. Another tragic family loss for Doctor Khumalo who not so long ago also had to bid his daughter farewell. Clearly hurting and still in mourning, Khumalo in his weekly Soccer Laduma column said, “If I could, I would’ve asked God to spare my mom another 10 years or so because the whole family still needed her, but it was impossible. I lost my daughter in 2017 and then, three years later, it is my mother and the pain is so unbearable.”

Soccer Laduma’s Podcast team read you the Siyagobhoza section of edition 1167. Stories you want to listen to: · Shock Sundowns interest in Castro · Chiefs preparing new Manyama deal · Ofori deal confirmed · Break delays Ntuli’s potential Pirates talk

In this week’s edition of Soccer Laduma in Part Two of the Milutin Sredojevic interview the former Orlando Pirates coach talks about life as the head coach of Zambia and how he is going about his task of getting Zambia to Cameroon in 2021 and Qatar in 2022. He also talks about former protégés at Bucs, Justine Shonga and Augustine Mulenga. Have Soccer Laduma radio read the interview for you if you were not able to get you Soccer Laduma this week.

In the latest edition of Soccer Laduma the editorial team put Khama Billiat under the magnifying glass and look for answers as to why Billiat’s goals are drying up for the Amakhosi. If you haven’t been able to get your hands on the paper, this is a chance for you to sit back and have Soccer Laduma read this thought provoking feature.

Listen to Soccer Laduma read this interesting Q & A with Orlando Pirates’ Nysikelelo Nyauza. Soccer Laduma catches up with Nyauza who talks about the Coronavirus outbreak as well as life under Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer