Pitso, Marawa smoke peace pipe after years of frosty relations

SA's most successful football coach, Pitso Mosimane, and sportscaster Robert Marawa have buried the hatchet after a longstanding standoff between the two.

On Friday evening, Marawa hosted Mosimane on his popular radio show on 947, where he acknowledged the frosty relations between them from the outset.

"You and I are prepared from the get-go to take the bull by the horns and say you and I have not spoken in mediums like this; you and I haven't spoken for many years for different reasons that we would find it difficult to understand why we are not talking.

"Here we are today, sitting face-to-face for the first time. I can tell the world that we had a meeting around 4 this afternoon....  to discuss our problems and the issues and get clarity [as to why] we denied South Africans this opportunity to sit and discuss, and I am glad to say we have communicated," Marawa said.

Mosimane responded: "Robert, as I told you earlier on, I will be turning 60 and I have looked back. I have looked and looked at the journey that has been travelled and do I want that journey to have unresolved issues, issues that can be solved? Everyone has been waiting for this moment and you have extended an invitation even before, and to me, l have said that is the sign of leadership from your side, not a sign of weakness."

This is how the two personalities demonstrated the newly established peace between them on Friday. 

The two set for more than two hours to discuss Mosimanes’s career and his dramatic move from Sundowns to Al Ahly in 2020.

The pair did not disclose the cause of their beef in the past but focused on the peace they have made with each other, and that they are looking forward to a more constructive, and innovative relationship moving forward. 

Mosimane admitted that he had previously blue-ticked Marawa’s invitation in the past. 

Meanwhile, SA's most celebrated coach and current manager of Saudi Arabia side Abha FC will receive an honorary degree from the University of Johannesburg next month.

"I feel humbled. There are lot things that are happening in my life that have been my dream, including the honorary doctorate. The University of Johannesburg does not honour me because of the job I have done; those professors know me. I have been in class and getting good grades," said Mosimane on Marawa's  show.

The degree will be conferred on him on July 24, just two days before he turns 60 years old.

Mosimane also refuted claims that he will be joining Kaizer Chiefs in the next season.

“To be honest, I am very close to the Motaung family (Chiefs owners), but we have not touched on that topic,” he said.

Mosimane's remarkable football career as a professional started at Jomo Cosmos which he joined in 1982. He also played for Orlando Pirates and Jomo Cosmos locally, and Ionikos in Greece.

He started his coaching career in 2001 at SuperSport United and achieved bigger glory as the head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns from 2012 to 2020. He also served as the caretaker coach of the SA national team, Bafana Bafana.