Mokwena lauded for bringing Sundowns ‘closest to Barca’

South African tactician Rulani Mokwena has been lauded for his influence at Mamelodi Sundowns before his unceremonious exit in July.

The 37-year-old was given the full mandate to coach Masandawana early in the 2022/23 season. In the two campaigns, he helped the defending Premier Soccer League champions win three major titles.

However, he fell out with Sporting Director Flemming Berg after failing to agree on players- transfers and targets. He eventually left for Moroccan heavyweights Wydad Casablanca.

Nevertheless, Mokwena’s style of play – while with Sundowns, was admired by many people. His emphasis on beautiful, slick passing with some nice goals overwhelmed many teams both in Mzansi and Africa. It explains why former AmaZulu coach Pablo Franco Martin has compared Mokwena’s Sundowns to Barcelona.

Sundowns played the best football in the continent 

“You can say without a doubt that Sundowns last season were the closest team to Barcelona or that Spanish style,” Martin, who was recently fired by Usuthu, told Far Post.

“It is true that you need their quality to do that properly but some other teams in the league had that quality as well and played much more vertically and based on physicality and a transitional style.

“Controlling the game is the most difficult thing and Sundowns and us tried to do it, attracting opponents to create spaces and find overloads to get advantages. In some moments of last season, they mastered it and they played the best football in the continent,” he concluded.

Manqoba Mngqithi took over but has since been fired, with Portuguese Miguel Cardoso taking over.