Rulani Mokwna was among those delighted by the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup draw when his Wydad Athletic Club were paired alongside Manchester City managed by his idol Pep Guardiola.
Mokwena has never hidden his admiration for Guardiola and he has tried to implement the Spanish coach’s way of playing on his teams and there are those who feel he even dresses like the city manager.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach will finally get his wish to test his wits against Guardiola but City are not the only team Wydad will face as Group G also has Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates and Italian giants Juventus.
Manchester City
City have become a football powerhouse since Guardiola took over in the summer of 2016, leading them to remarkable success by winning six Premier League titles, including the last four, and ending their wait for a Champions League crown in 2023.
Founded in 1880, City had won just two league titles, the last in 1968, before UAE billionaire Sheikh Mansour bought the club through the Abu Dhabi United Group in August 2008.
That marked the start of their renaissance as Sheikh Mansour invested billions into the club to buy quality players while improving facilities and they won their first Premier League crown in dramatic fashion in 2012, adding another one in 2014, before Guardiola arrived two years later.
Founded in 1880 as St Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894.
They qualified for the Club World Cup thanks to their UEFA Champions League win in 2023.
Al Ain
Al Ain will be one of four Asian sides competing at the expanded FIFA Club World Cup, having booked their place by winning the 2023-24 Asian Champions League.
Founded in 1968, the club was officially established in the city of Al Ain. Although a group broke away in 1971 to form Al Tadhamun, the two sides merged together in 1974 under the name Al Ain Sports Club.
They competed in the UAE Football League for the first time in the 1975-76 season, going on to win the first league title a year later.
They are the most successful team in the UAE having claimed 14 league titles and two Asian Champions Leagues won in 2003 and 2024, besides winning all the other domestic cups available.
Juventus
Italian giants Juventus are one of 12 European teams in the Club World Cup after earning their place through the UEFA ranking pathway thanks to their impressive runs in the Champions League from 2021-2024.
The Old Lady of Turin were founded by students in 1897 and given the name Juventus which means “youth” in Latin. The founders adopted the nickname “Vecchia Signora” – or “Old Lady” – for the club in the 1930s, a nickname linked in part to the fact that Juve preferred to rely on experienced players to avoid any risk of losing games.
Juventus have gone through highs and some very lows over the years but they remain the most successful Italian club with 36 Serie A titles, 15 Coppa Italia, nine Supercoppa italiana as well as two Champions League crowns won in 1985 and 1996.
