28 October 2019, by: Ben Dlamini

Is Rhulani Mokwena Ready for the Orlando Pirates Job?

Its always great to hype up one of our own, a loyal servant to the game, a young passionate South African coach, but since we’ve seen Rhulani Mokwena at the helm of Orlando Pirates, few would have expected such a dismal start for the 34-year-old.

Yes, it has only been eight league games and it will take time for Mokwena to truly implement his philosophy through to the players, but having been second in charge behind Milutin Sredojevic, who wasn’t sacked, but decided to leave for Zamalek in Egypt, showed that the job he was doing in Mayfair was well-recognised across the continent, so, why not stick to the plan that was working? Why change a method that the players were used to for two seasons?

Clearly, for me, that shows a bit of arrogance and naivety, and talk of him being the main reason behind the success of Mamelodi Sundowns from his time there is just pure rubbish.

Take note, Bongani Zungu.

Emotions aside, what makes Mokwena good enough for Orlando Pirates? One of the biggest clubs in Africa has become a testing ground for a coach who, in all fairness, got the job solely because of his Sono bloodline.

At the moment, Pirates lack identity and sources within the club have indicated that there is a divide between some of the players whether Mokwena is the right man for the job, while a few members in management are also unsure on the rookie’s capabilities.

Although, Chairman, Irvin Khoza, is a firm believer in Mokwena – for now, that matters most.

Don’t get me wrong here, coach Rhulani is a football genius when analysing the aspects of the game, but quoting Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho doesn’t make him a great coach. The fact that his uncle, Jomo Sono, left his wedding to represent Orlando Pirates also doesn’t make him any better than he already is.

We can only judge on what we’ve seen so far, and the results are not easy on the eye at all.

They’ve failed to brush aside the lesser teams in the league, failed to qualify for the group stages of the CAF Champions League, got knocked out of the MTN8 tournament, and despite it still being early in the campaign, the objective would have surely changed from competing for the league title to now making sure the Buccaneers do not drop out of the top eight.

When Mokwena was first appointed as the head coach of Orlando Pirates, the team struggled for confidence in the final third, but did look solid defensively. Now, goals are certainly not a problem, yet their defence is all over the place. Two months in, two international breaks done and dusted and Mokwena still hasn’t found the right balance.

On any given day, Orlando Pirates should be licking their lips when facing Stellenbosch in the Absa Premiership, but right now, the Buccaneers cannot be confident against any side, which resulted in Pirates losing 1-0 in Cape Town. Perhaps this dream job of coaching Orlando Pirates came too soon for Mokwena. Right now, in my honest opinion, he’ll be lucky to finish the season.

In terms of ending the trophy drought, I give him no chance. He doesn’t even know how long the drought has been going on for, how can he be the man to end it?

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