Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Giovanni Solinas is still in pain at losing his job with Amakhosi, saying if he was given the time Pitso Mosimane had at Mamelodi Sundowns he would have brought success at the trophy-starved club from Naturena.
It’s now five years since the Italian – the only Italian to have coached in the PSL era – was fired but it still cut deep inside him.
Speaking to iDiski Times‘ journalist Robin-Duke Madlala from Saudi Arabia where he returned to coach Al Faisaly in the second division in March, Solinas said he would have won a trophy at Naturena, adding Rome was never built in one day.
The Italian mentor was announced by Chiefs chairman, Kaizer Motaung, on 13 July 2018, saying: “We always look at what a coach can do and we believe that with Solinas we have brought in a person with the right mechanism and energy to do well.”
But on 7 December 2018, after Solinas was in charge of just 20 matches in all competitions, Chiefs decided they had seen enough of the Italian. They cancelled his contract after consecutive losses to Orlando Pirates in TKO semi-final in Durban and Golden Arrows in the league.
After Solinas won just seven of those matches in charge, while drawing seven and losing six, Chiefs then appointed former coach Ernst Middendorp as Solinas’ replacement, in what was a hurried move.
“if I had more time, we could have fixed the problems because you know Pitso, I remember in the first season when he arrived at Sundowns, nothing was won,” he told iDiski Times.
“They gave him the time and after that [he won the league in the following
season]. Rome was never built in one night.”
Mosimane replaced former Dutch star player Johan Neeskens, who was on the losing side when Sundowns were beaten in the TKO final by Bloemfontein Celtic.
“We needed the time because I came also without a pre-season,” insisted Solinas.
“I came two weeks before the start of the league, so there was no time for me in the pre-season.
“I tried my level best, but remember Pitso in the first year, nothing was won. It is the same with Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, they didn’t win anything in his first season and I think they finished eighth in the table.
“Pep Guardiola, also in his first season at Manchester City, didn’t win anything. I’m not a magician, I don’t make miracles and I believe in my job. But I needed a little bit more time.
“For me, three to four months was never enough.
“Sir Alex Ferguson, three seasons with Manchester United, no trophy. After that, they started to win. But I would say every coach needs a bit of time. But I’m giving you examples of big coaches – Pitso, Klopp, Guardiola, Ferguson – nothing won in the first season.
“With no pre-season at Chiefs, it was a big disadvantage. Four months later I lost the job, there was not enough time for a coach.”
You can read the full feature on Solinas – who recently held Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahli Saudi to a 2-2 draw – in this week’s iDiski Times, which is available for free at Shoprite stores, while the free online version will be available on our from Friday.
