On Friday, Mamelodi Sundowns celebrated one year of Rulani Mokwena as
head coach, after the club confirmed him as head coach on October 24,
2022. Since taking charge, Mokwena has not lost a DStv Premiership match,
as Sundowns recorded an impressive 15 wins and five draws during that
period, earning them the title with seven matches to spare. They are
unbeaten in the Premiership after eight matches this season, continuing
their dominance in the league.
It’s in the knockout competitions where Mokwena has not been able to crack
it just yet, as he waits to win his first major knockout competition as
head coach of the club. He came close in the MTN8 final recently at Moses
Mabhida Stadium, but a penalty shootout went in the favour of Soweto
giants. They were booted out of the Carling Knockout recently by TS Galaxy
via a penalty shootout and they only have the Nedbank Cup as the remaining
domestic cup competition to challenge for.
The big one will no doubt be the CAF Champions League, after they were
knocked out in the semi-finals last season by Moroccan giants Wydad
Casablanca. The African Football League will provide Mokwena another
opportunity to lift a trophy, with Al Ahly next in the semi-finals after
they beat Petro over two legs in the quarterfinals.
Mokwena’s tenure has not come without any challenges, but he has kept
Sundowns competing at a high level, despite the busy schedule. It has been
a remarkable first year for the coach as he looks to add some silverware
to his cabinet in the upcoming months.
