Respected South African coach Pitso Mosimane has showered praises at Kaitano Tembo after the former Zimbabwe international recently reached a century of matches in charge at South African topflight club SuperSport United.
Tembo became one of the longest current serving coaches in the South African Premiership after reaching his 100th game milestone as head coach of SuperSport United against Cape Town City Saturday.
Mosimane, who worked alongside Tembo at SuperSport before going to become one of the most respected coaches on the continent, was among the first to congratulate the Zimbabwean on his milestone.
“Congrats Kaitano, after (you were) been given an opportunity as head coach, you never disappointed,” said Mosimane via his twitter handle @TheRealPitso.
“Amazing that you have quietly collected so many games and a trophy under your belt without seeking any media validation, Up and coming Coach, please learn from him,” tweeted Pitso, who has won the CAF Champions League with Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly.
Tembo regards Mosimane as his mentor with the pair having worked closely with each other since the turn of the millennium.
The legendary Tembo was already part of the club’s squad having joined SuperSport in 1999 from Seven Stars (now known as Ajax Cape Town) when Mosimane began his coaching career at SuperSport in 2001.
Mosimane, who became the youngest coach in the PSL at the age of 31, transformed the Tshwane side into one of the top teams in the country as they constantly challenged for trophies.
Tembo excelled under Mosimane and he understood the Kagiso-born coach’s philosophy. The former Zimbabwe international was entrusted with the responsibility of leading the team as club captain.
Tembo retired from professional football in 2006 having learned a lot under the mentorship of Mosimane as he was his right-hand man on the field of play.
After bidding his time as juniors’ coach and later as the assistant coach under accomplished tacticians Gavin Hunt and Stuart Baxter the former Dynamos and Warriors centre-back was thrust into the head coaching role at the club, in July 2018, on a two-year deal.
Since his elevation, Tembo has brought stability to SuperSport United while the highlight of his coaching career thus far was winning the MTN8 in his second season in 2019 after losing in the final the previous year.
From his 100 games in charge, coach Tembo has won 43 games drawn 27 and Saturday’s 3-0 loss away to Cape Town City was his 30th loss in charge.