Pitso Mosimane has opened up about life in United Arab Emirates.
Before his move to Al Wahda FC, the 59-year-old had a notable stint as the head coach of Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, where he helped the team win promotion to the Saudi Pro League.
“Football in UAE is a bit different from where I was in Saudi Arabia,” said Mosimane. “In Saudi Arabia, I was in the First Division and now I’m in the Premier League.
“So, the quality of foreign players is way bigger; we have players who played for Everton. Allan played for Everton in the midfield.
“We have a chance to have players who played at the highest level. Of course, it’s a bit different because now expectations are high because we are supposed to win the league. We didn’t start on a good note, we lost our first league game and I’ve never lost my first match in any team. It was a surprise to me.
“But we bounced back and won the Derby against one of the biggest teams in UAE, Al Jazira. They are a big club, with big names, big coach Frank de Boer. There was nothing bigger than that. They have top quality players.
“We won that and the second game against Emirates. You will always find big names there. We played against Andres Iniesta, he still has good touches. OK, he is not young but the quality remains.
Exciting, we won the game 3-0.
“We are still finding our feet and it’s too early but I think we got a little bit of confidence from our people. To beat Al Jazira, it’s Pirates and Chiefs Derby.”