Rulani Mokwena coach of Mamelodi Sundowns team during the African Football League semi-final match between Al-Ahly and Mamelodi Sundowns FC. The return leg after Sundowns' 1-0 win in South Africa in the first leg, this match at Cairo International Stadium Cairo, Egypt Rulani Mokwena has revealed that it didn’t come as a surprise to him when he left Mamelodi Sundowns rather suddenly. Picture: Ayman Aref/NurPhoto via AFP
Though it came as a huge shock when Rulani Mokwena left his position as coach of the highly successful Mamelodi Sundowns after they had just won their seventh league title in a row, the man himself said the move had been coming for some time.
Mokwena, 37, even alluded to the fact that he had dropped hints in his press conferences prior to his departure in early July.
It came as a massive surprise in SA football circles when reports first emerged that Mokwena and Sundowns would part ways due to ‘a broken working relationship’.
However, Mokwena, said in hindsight it was the right move for him.
Rulani Mokwena speaking about his similarities with Pep and how he plans to build a new team. pic.twitter.com/74PTa6wYmR
— Wydad Red Castle (@WydadRedCastle) July 18, 2024
“To me it wasn’t a surprise to be honest with you,” Mokwena told SportsBoom.com in an exclusive interview.
“There were a lot of people close to me who can tell you that even though I feel like it was a bit premature and that we could have gone on to do a lot more, but as a person there’s certain things that you can feel.”
The speculation was rife about where the young coach would go after his sudden exit from Sundowns, but just over a week later it was confirmed that he had signed a contract with Moroccan outfit Wydad Casablanca.
Though Mokwena did not reveal which other teams he had considered leading, he explained why he chose Wydad.
“The only thing that I can actually say that made me choose Wydad over quite a lot of different options was their intensity, their commitment, their resolve to pull me towards the club,” he uttered.
“When people show so much confidence and belief in you, I think in retrospect I made the right choice. I am enjoying myself and I look forward to helping this club try to get back to being a dominant force in the continent like it has been in the past.”
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