Since Orlando Pirates announced earlier this month that Jose Riveiro will be leaving the club at the end of the season, a number of names have been thrown into the hat as the search for his successor begins.
One of those names is that of Rulani Mokwena, the former Mamelodi Sundowns boss who is now with Moroccan giants Wydad Casablanca.
In Morocco, Mokwena has been having a tough time. With his charges way off the pace in the title race, and after some pressure from supporters, Mokwena has announce he will leave the club at the end of the season, paving the path for a return to Pirates.
Due to his work at Sundowns, where he guided the club to a league title last season, the 38-year-old has been regarded as the perfect replacement for the Spaniard Riveiro.
And on top of that, Mokwena’s family are intrinsically linked with the history of Orlando Pirates. His uncle Jomo Sono is widely regarded as the greatest player to wear the famous black and white jersey, while his father Julius “KK” Sono is a club legend.
However, Moeneeb Josephs, another club legend, doesn’t think Mokwena did a good job in his first stint with the club, and would not be the right fit as they look to end Mamelodi Sundowns’ stranglehold on the league title.
“If we’re looking at wanting to bring him back to Orlando Pirates, as good a coach as he is, why would we put on old shoes again? Why would you go back again?,” Josephs, who I now the goalkeeping coach of the Kenya national team, said on Soccerbeat.
“From what I can remember, when he was by us, there were a whole lot of issues, there were tantrums, our supporters weren’t too happy as well.
“It was boiling there with him (at the helm). For me, he left a sour taste in my mouth when he left Orlando Pirates.
“At Orlando Pirates, we’ve got this culture that coach Jose has brought. We don’t won’t need someone to come and change that culture. We need someone to add to that culture.
“I love him as a coach, but I understand that there’s a lot of ego involved, and we don’t need that at the moment.
“In my personal opinion, we don’t need an ego there now. We need someone who’s going to work with his players who understands where they are in their careers and to take them to that next level.”
IOL Sport
