Former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi was accused of changing the team's possession style and passing, which it perfected under coach Rulani Mokwena.
The 53-year-old preferred a more direct style as opposed to the ‘Rulani-Ball' something that did not go down well with a section of the fans and stakeholders. Mngqithi did not last at Masandawana, he was replaced barely six months after taking over.
The defending Premier Soccer League champions had failed to deliver the MTN8 after falling against Stellenbosch in the semi-final. They were then beaten in the Carling Knockout final by surprise package Magesi FC. Sundowns further struggled for a decent start in the Caf Champions League group stage, registering back-to-back draws.
In his recent interview with SoccerBeat, Romain Folz – who was serving as Mngqithi's assistant coach before the dismissal, has now explained how ‘Rulani-Ball' was replaced.
It was good but we could have done better
“Coach Manqoba gave me the responsibilities, among other things but most importantly, of the offensive departments and tried a little bit to segment the work in the way our formula and a pattern of play and how we approach the game in the offensive side more diverse,” he stated.
“To be able to adapt and hurt any type of opponent. I believe we had a lot of good moments, we scored a lot of goals, that was our main responsibility. We had good examples, a game in the cup against Arrows [we won 5-0 in the Carling Knockout] and [won 4-0] against Chiefs, where we had a different type of opposition and I believe we played the right cards, scored a lot of goals.
“But yeah I believe in as much as we scored a lot of goals, we could have scored more. So I believe it was good but we could've done better,” Folz concluded.
