GAME DAY | Rulani Mokwena’s emotional return: Mamelodi Sundowns fans divided ahead of CAF Champions League clash

MAMELODI SUNDOWNS v MC ALGER

LOFTUS VERSFELD, TSHWANE

3pm SAT

MIGUEL CARDOSO v RULANI MOKWENA

RULANI MOKWENA is unlikely to be heckled by Mamelodi Sundowns fans the way his predecessor and mentor Pitso Mosimane was when he returned for a match against his former club.

The young coach is still loved by most of Masandawana who were saddened by his abrupt departure immediately after a near-perfect league campaign which saw them lose just one match on the season’s final day.

He returns to Loftus Versfeld this afternoon as coach of an MC Alger side looking to put an end to the South African champions’ participation in the CAF Champions League, though.

While Sundowns fans would like for their team to get the victory that will book them a spot in the quarter-final, there are some among them who would be delighted to see the back of current coach Miguel Cardoso. It is a Catch-22 situation that will test even the most loyal of fans.

While he took Sundowns to the final last year, Cardoso has not endeared himself to the club’s faithful with his pragmatic style of play and the irony is surely not lost on the discerning fan that the Portuguese was brought in to ‘get us playing the Sundowns way’ when he replaced Manqoba Mngqithi.

The former Esperance coach might have put on a brave face lately, but deep down he knows he is in a do-or-die situation. Elimination prior to the knockout phase would be a disaster that is certain to see the fans up in arms and management could well have their hand forced.

For Mokwena, this Valentine’s Day clash will be one of mixed emotions given he still has a soft spot for the club that helped establish him as one of the continent’s top coaches.

Yet it was also Sundowns who broke his heart, ‘management politics’ ensuring his stay at the club was untenable despite his having just produced the best league campaign by a club in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) era.

He is with MC Alger now though and once he’s dealt with the lump in the throat moment he is sure to experience upon walking into what’s sure to be a sea of yellow at about 2.30pm, the offspring of South African football royalty – the Sono family – will switch to ‘beast’’ mode as he cajoles, directs and coaches his team towards victory.

How the Sundowns fans react to him during the match will be water off a duck’s back although his interaction with Cardoso and the Sundowns technical bench on the sidelines could be a match on its own.

They are unlikely to treat him as badly as they treated Pitso Mosimane when he returned with Al Ahly though, the outcome of the tie notwithstanding.