Rulani Mokwena had put himself on the radar of promising emerging coaches in Africa, but Mamelodi Sundowns’ victory in the inaugural African Football League (AFL), and his first continental trophy at the minuscule coaching age of 36, have made Africa take notice.
Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca — given not just the AFL’s huge prize money, but also their desire to transfer their dominance of the Caf Champions League to the new, mega-wealthy competition — would have liked to lift the trophy Downs raised at Loftus on Sunday.
The Brazilians impressively saw off Angola’s experienced Petro Atletico, 11-time Champions League winners Ahly and three-time winners Wydad over home and away legs in the quarterfinal, semifinal and final.
Mokwena schemed a highly tactical, aesthetically pleasing way past all three, most notably crack Moroccan outfit Wydad, who have so often been the stumbling block to Sundowns reaching another Champions League final, after winning that competition in 2016. It is a win that appears to have put the brainbox, wunderkind coach on a trajectory to follow mentor Pitso Mosimane, who he was assistant to when Downs won the 2016 Champions League, to become a coach of reputation on the continent and perhaps further.
Africa, says Olisa Chukwumah — formerly a sports journalist for News Central TV in Nigeria and now Deutsche Welle’s West African correspondent — has taken notice.
“For those of us in sports journalism, and those who know the African game continentally, he’s no stranger. Many, especially here in Nigeria, will know him from his analysis he does on SuperSport for major tournaments, like the World Cup or Africa Cup of Nations,” Chukwumah told TimesLIVE Premium.
“He’s a young coach and his CV is impressive because of being part of the backroom staff of Pitso Mosimane’s earlier successes at Sundowns.
“And now to do this [win the AFL], people on the continent will take note. Because Mosimane is the popular black South African and African coach that the continent, and people here in Nigeria and West Africa, are quite proud of.
“Rulani Mokwena looks like somebody who might fit a similar profile, and people want to see what he does in the Champions League. This will be a stepping stone towards that.
“He clearly has made a case as the next black coach from Africa or South African coach to be reckoned with on the continent and indeed in the world. Because at such a young age, and to have been coaching for a while now, it has to be said that for him to win this inaugural AFL indicates it can only get better for him.”
We watched the final, we saw the way he is quite passionate. Apart from his articulation as an analyst on SuperSport, he’s quite an animated character on the sidelines.
— Olisa Chukwumah
It’s not just the technical, at times flowing, at others regimentally disciplined football a streetwise Sundowns serve up in the AFL under their coach so clearly influenced by the latest trends of top European clubs, but also his passion and spirit.
The coaches who have won on the global stage — Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola, Liverpool’s Juergen Klopp, Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Mosimane — displayed an insatiable fire in the belly. Chukwumah said Mokwena’s body language in matches, how he speaks, convey such burning desire.
“We watched the final, we saw the way he is quite passionate. Apart from his articulation as an analyst on SuperSport, he’s quite an animated character on the sidelines.
“You could see in the final, the second goal meant so much to Sundowns, and you could see the reaction of the players — he’s a young coach, but they all gathered about him to lift him, throwing him up and cheering him. That also shows his managerial style, that he’s a coach who’s not just tactically sound but also has the human side that goes into coaching, the man-management with these young African players. That is something we have not often seen on the continent with young African coaches, especially at this level.”
Like his mentors he studies, Mokwena’s fire will ruffle feathers. Sometimes it’s meant to. Other times it’s a by-product of the fight.
Ahead of the Cairo second leg of the Al Ahly semifinal, Mokwena mounted a passionate defence of his team after a protest over a penalty by the Red Devils from the first leg.
Mokwena said he was “very surprised Al Ahly complained about the penalty”, saying “before the first leg, Al Ahly complained that they can’t play at 3pm”, yet “they are allowed to put the second leg at a time that suits them and you hear no complaints from Sundowns”.
He listed officiating calls he said went against Downs. Mokwena audaciously said: “Jose Mourinho said once a big club starts to look for other factors apart from football when they lose, they start losing their status as a big club. And I hope that is not the case with Al Ahly, because they are the flagship of African football.”
Journalist Omar Elbanouby, editor-in-chief of Al Ahly TV and writer of three books on Egyptian football, said Mokwena deserved praise for his feat at such a young age, but cautioned his statements in Cairo had not gone down well.
“He did a great job winning the first AFL, and it’s a great achievement, especially given he’s still a young coach,” Elbanouby told TimesLIVE Premium.
“I think he has a good mentality, but for sure he should gain more experience through continental competition because he must show more respect for the opponents.
“In the semifinal he spoke in a not good way about Al Ahly. The fans in Egypt are not happy about that situation. He spoke about Al Ahly as always complaining about the referee, even though he is always complaining in South Africa.
“You saw him complaining about referees when they lost the [MTN8] cup final against Orlando Pirates and he always has problems with the [Bafana Bafana] coach Hugo Broos. He should be concerned with his team and job he’s doing, not about the opponents, not Al Ahly or Wydad.
“But I think he has done a great job. The fans in Egypt respect Mamelodi Sundowns because they have a good project, they are doing well and getting good results and have the aura of champions.
“I think perhaps he dreams of working in Egypt and then in the Gulf like Pitso. The example Al Ahly made with Pitso opened the door for African coaches.”
Mokwena’s screed might have ruffled Egyptians’ feathers. It indicates parts of Africa are still getting used to his directness, as people in South Africa have over the last half-decade, and as the continent and North Africa once did for Mosimane. Mokwena might have learnt some of his outspokenness from Mosimane, but is decidedly his own man. His openness was there to see when he started taking press conferences when he was assistant to Milutin Sredojevic at Pirates. The international coaches whose trends on the field he is such a student of were never known for pulling punches in media statements.
In South Africa, Mokwena’s retort to Ahly was seen as the kind of standing of ground, giving as good as one gets, that can be necessary in continental football, whether on the touchline, from the players on the field, negotiating transport from the airport to the hotel, or in the press conference room.
And it was an attitude that did seem to transfer to the field, both against Ahly and Wydad, where Downs were not stepping back for anybody, no matter the reputations or greater pedigree.
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