FORMER Mamelodi Sundowns defender Thabo Nthethe had a lump in his throat when he reflected on the club’s abrupt decision to sack coach Rulani Mokwena.
Mokwena was released by Sundowns after just one season into his four-year contract as head coach, having won the African Football League and domestic league title, which was the club’s seventh in a row.
While that feat would be deemed good enough elsewhere, it wasn’t at Sundowns. The fact that he missed out on other trophies was unjustifiable.
Mokwena missed out on the Carling Knockout, MTN8 and Nedbank Cup, despite reaching the final in the last two, but the Brazilians wanted the Caf Champions League trophy more than anything.
Since winning their maiden African crown eight years ago, Sundowns have been working tirelessly to add another star above their crest, without success.
Having the board put resources into the team, buying expensive personnel, Mokwena’s back-to-back semi-final finishes in the premier continental club competition were not good enough.
The club have moved on from Mokwena, though, placing Manqoba Mngqithi in charge for now, while reappointing Steve Komphela as a senior coach.
Nthethe, who was part of the squad that won the Champions League in 2016, believes the duo can succeed and continue from where Mokwena left off.
“It was the second time that they lost in the Champions League semi-final, so he didn’t get to the final,” Nthethe explained.
“So I think they said, ‘no, this is not working or a good investment, so we’d rather look for someone else’.
“But eish, I don’t see any coach from outside doing well.
“I think Mokwena was a good person (for the club). Manqoba can be (a good coach) now that he is there, and I think coach Steve is going to assist him.”
Mngqithi and Komphela might be calling the shots for now, but reports are rife that Sundowns are still in search of a new coach, preferably European or north African.
Moamen Soliman, Patrice Carteron and Miguel Cardoso are some of the coaches who have been linked with the Brazilians in recent weeks.
Nthethe, who’s now the assistant coach of Motsepe Foundation Championship side Casric Stars, believes a foreigner might struggle to adapt at the club.
“I am not sure of a coach from outside, but this is football, and a coach from outside can come and win the second star,” said Nthethe.
While the club said Mokwena didn’t meet their objectives, reports have emerged that the 37-year-old didn’t see eye-to-eye with sporting director Flemming Berg.
“Ja, I think Flemming is the one who hires and fires, so I think he’s focused on winning the Champions League,” Nthethe explained.
“Like you say, Rulani and his team have done very well, and for them to go out in the semi-final of the Champions League was a good attempt. They were just unfortunate.
“They’ve been beating Al Ahly which is a big team in Africa. Before, we couldn’t beat Al Ahly, let alone by 3-0 or 5-0 like they’ve been doing.”
With Sundowns’ mandate now clearly the Champions League next season, it appears that whoever fails to win the title will be shown the door.
“It looks like it. It looks like it’s going there,” Nthethe added.
“They are going to tell him that he needs to win the Champions League, and everything here at home.
“Last season, Sundowns only won the league (domestically). And I think that they were able to manage that very well given how they did. They lost in the Nedbank Cup and the MTN8 final.”