Having coached in Central, West and now in North Africa, Zamalek head coach Patrice Carteron has his sights on coaching in the Southern African region with Premier Soccer League (PSL) being his preferred destination.
Carteron, who recently won two back-to-back Super Cup titles beating Esperance in the CAF Super Cup and arch-rivals Al Ahly in the Egyptian Super Cup, believes that the standard of the PSL suits a top coach like him.
In the audio below, Carteron explains:
Carteron has played against a number of South African teams, notably Mamelodi Sundowns in the CAF Champions League and he’s got an idea of why most SA teams don’t seem to do well in continental club competitions.
When Chiefs were looking for a replacement for Steve Komphela, they came very close to enlisting the services of Carteron, but he ended up settling for Al Ahly in Egypt.
The Red Devils were also looking to replace Hossam El Badry (current Egypt national team coach) who came very close to joining Amakhosi and also came to Naturena for a successful interview, only to be lured away by the deep money bags of Pyramids FC.
In the audio below he opens up about the Chiefs link.
Carteron, who won the 2015 CAFCL title with TP Mazembe, also confirms that he almost joined Chiefs arch-rivals Orlando Pirates, but at the time they wanted him, he was not available (Bucs Chairman Irvin Khoza has mentioned this before).
It also emerged earlier this week that Carteron has been linked with Tunisian giants and African champions for the past two seasons Esperance, a team he’s beaten three times this season.
It would appear that the Frenchman still has some unfinished business in North Africa.
For Carteron, coaching in the PSL would also revive his rivalry with Sundowns head coach Pitso Mosimane. He helped Mazembe beat the Brazilians in 2015.
In the audio below, the 50-year-old says he’s a big fan of Mosimane’s:
During his playing days as a defender, Carteron also played at Sunderland in the English Premier League.
This was during the time when Bafana Bafana legends Mark Fish, Eric Tinkler, Lucas Radebe and more were also in the UK. He recalls playing against Rhoo when he captained Leeds United and also has fond memories of a strong Bafana team of that time. – Report by Velile Mnyandu
