JOHANNESBURG - Rhulani Mokwena seems to be more and more animated by the beautiful game. It’s becoming great to watch, given that he hails from a footballing family.
The young coach is the grandson of Eric Sono, son of Julius Sono and nephew of Jomo Sono. But unlike his grandfather, father and uncle, Mokwena, who carries his mother’s last name, is not making a name for himself as a football wizard. Instead, he’s fast becoming one of the most astute tacticians locally.
The departure of Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane last year saw the responsibility heightened for Mokwena and Manqoba Mngqithi, who were named as new co-coaches, the latter given a “leading” role.
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With the pecking order set, including senior coach Steve Komphela, it could have been easy for Mokwena to relax and let Mngqithi run the show. But that’s not his style. He loves to be part of the action.
When he was still at Orlando Pirates, some believed he and not then head coach Milutin Sredojevic ran the show. A clip of Mokwena telling the Serb to keep quiet and return to his seat even surfaced on social media.
Bongani Zungu also joined in on the act. In a tweet that he’s since deleted and apologised for, he said: “Coach Rhulani has made Pirates a top team again! @ coach_rulani you the boss. Trust me it’s him. Even at Sundowns ask @dolly_keagan07, he’ll tell u.”
Mokwena’s stint with his boyhood club, given that his seniors made names for themselves at Pirates, didn’t end well. He struggled to steer the Sea Robbers to steady waters on an interim basis after the resignation of Sredojevic. As a result, he was shipped out.
At Chippa United, where he was on a six-month loan, he coached one game pre-Covid before making a sensational return to the Brazilians, where he won the league and Nedbank Cup, during the conclusion of the 2019/2020 campaign.
The winds of change started to blow at Sundowns late last year, with Mngqithi and Mokwena jointly assuming the hotseat after the Mosimane era ahead of the term. The trio – including Komphela – led Sundowns to their record fourth successive championship.
But the spotlight has been Mokwena’s best friend of late.
He was one of the expert analysts for pay channel SuperSport during the European Championship, while he’s been the coaches’ mouthpiece to the media more than his colleagues this term.
But it’s perhaps his recent clip which has gone viral, where he’s clutching for balance as his chair attempts to spill him over during the opening league match against AmaZulu, that proves just how much he’s invested in Sundowns and football.
This moment which Mokwena captioned on Twitter as “I wish I didn’t love this game so much!” summed up just how frustrated he becomes when his troops endure misfortunes, especially up front!
@mihlalibaleka
IOL Sport