Mosimane vs Hunt: Who has the Cup pedigree ahead of Mamelodi Sundowns and Bidvest Wits match?

Pitso Mosimane and Gavin Hunt are the most successful active coaches in the PSL and will again square off when Mamelodi Sundowns and Bidvest Wits battle in the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup on Saturday night.

The coaches will meet for only their second time in a Cup match in 13 years this weekend with a place in the final at stake. 

But who has the Cup pedigree between Mosimane and Hunt? 

Goal

The hunt for the silverware is on for Gavin as he looks to bow out in style following the announcement that Wits will no longer exist beyond the current season. 

For Mosimane, this is the perfect chance to add another trophy to his cabinet this term and enhance his chances and that of Sundowns to bag the treble. 

Sundowns are very much in the league title race and securing a spot in the Nedbank Cup final will surely motivate them to push Kaizer Chiefs all the way to the final day of the season. 

The advantage for Mosimane is that Sundowns have enjoyed huge success since his arrival and have won almost all the trophies on offer but the MTN8. 

Ironically, it was Hunt who stopped Mosimane from winning the MTN8 in 2016 as the Students hammered the Brazilians 3-0 in the final. 

That was the first Cup meeting between the two coaches, and Wits will draw some inspiration from that result ahead of Saturday's encounter at Orlando Stadium. 

Backpage Pix

But Mosimane knows how to reach Cup finals and win them having done so many occasions before. 

The Kagiso-born mentor's Cup pedigree started showing very early in his coaching career - he took SuperSport United to a couple of finals and won two - the Nedbank Cup and MTN8 - before agreeing to join the Bafana Bafana technical team on a permanent basis.

Upon his return to club level, Mosimane guided Sundowns to the Nedbank Cup triumph in 2015 before bagging another Cup title in the form of the Telkom Knockout Cup at the expense of Amakhosi later that year.

This was the beginning of an upward slope for Sundowns and Mosimane in terms of dominating domestic football. 

In total, Mosimane has won a whopping seven Cup finals in his career, including the Caf Champions League and Caf Super Cup in 2016 and 2017, respectively. 

On the other hand, Hunt has claimed four Cup titles in his coaching career - two of which came in 2016 and 2017 with the Clever Boys. 

Gallo

His first major piece of silverware was the Absa Cup with Moroka Swallows in 2004 before winning the Nedbank Cup with SuperSport United in 2012, and that success helped put him on the map as someone who knows how to approach league and Cup matches.    

Of course, these records don't include the many finals the two coaches lost in their careers - but looking at the numbers, Mosimane is clearly ahead of Hunt who started coaching way before the Sundowns mentor made it to professional coaching.

In addition, in the 17 matches that these coaches have met, Mosimane won seven, drew five and lost just five to Hunt since 2007 - and again, the Sundowns mentor has the upper hand over his counterpart.  

On paper, Mosimane has no reason to lose this semi-final clash to Hunt as Sundowns have a squad capable of beating anyone at any given day. 

Hunt doesn't enjoy the luxury he used to in terms of the depth in his squad - but with both teams struggling with injuries and a few of their key players unavailable, anything is possible, especially as this is the Nedbank Cup and has proven to be very tricky for teams considered strong favourites over the years.