Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has revealed his admiration for Orlando Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic, rating the Serbian among the top five coaches on the continent.

Mosimane came up against Sredojevic in the feisty 0-0 draw between Downs and Pirates at Loftus Versfeld last weekend.

The match, however, was overshadowed by the scenes off the field, with the two benches clashing after a fan invaded the Pirates technical area to confront former Sundowns assistant coach Rulani Mokwena.

That incident came after a week where former Sundowns player Bongani Zungu‚ who now plays for Amiens in Ligue 1 in France‚ controversially took to Twitter to suggest that Mokwena, despite being the assistant coach, was behind the success at the Brazilians and is now behind the recent upturn in fortune at Pirates.

Mosimane, however, put all these issues aside, revealing his respect for his fellow manager who he has shared a long history with.

‘I have big respect for Micho‚ I came far with Micho‚’ said Mosimane.

‘I have known Micho for the last 16 years. Micho has helped me a lot.

‘He was my encyclopedia when I recruited [goalkeeper] Denis Onyango at SuperSport United.

‘Micho is one of the top five coaches in Africa. So all these smaller things and mind games, they don’t mean a lot. Micho has won [many] championships.

‘We are bigger than small‚ petty things,’ concluded Mosimane.

Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix