Wydad Casablanca assistant coach Sinethemba Badela has dedicated the club’s big win in the Botola Pro League on Sunday night to head coach Rulani Mokwena.
The Morrocan giants cruised to a 5-1 win over Chabab Mohammédia to move second on the log table. Wydad leapfrogged AS FAR on the log standings after collecting 39 points in 21 games this season while AS FAR is third with 37 points.
With the victory against Mohammédia, Wydad are on course to qualify for the CAF Champions League next season. The 2023 African Football League [AFL] finalists are notable absentees in the Champions League this campaign after finishing sixth on the league table last season.
In a crucial match against Mohammédia, Wydad Casablanca were missing their coach, Rulani Mokwena, who travelled back to South Africa following the sad passing of his grandmother.
The former Orlando Pirates coach joined Wydad in July 2024 after his surprise departure from Mamelodi Sundowns. During his time as the sole head coach of Sundowns, Mokwena won the Betway Premiership title and also clinched the inaugural African Football League.
WHAT BADELA SAID ABOUT WYDAD CASABLANCA AND RULANI MOKWENA
Sinethemba Badela, who was leading the club in the absence of Mokwena, has revealed that the players won the match for the highly-rated mentor.
“It was a very difficult game; the week was very difficult and emotional because we are without our head coach Rulani Mokwena,” Badela told the media in Morocco.
“So the boys did it for the coach. When we started the game, Mohammédia were very aggressive; they marked us man-for-man with a plus one at the back.
“It was only their striker marking the two centre-backs, so we struggled with that because [El Mehdi El] Moubarik couldn’t find the space in the midfield. Also [Ismail] Moutaraji was struggling to find the space in the midfield.
“So what we needed to do was to move the ball a little bit quicker, and in the second half, the subs helped us a lot. They gave us a quicker tempo to the game and once we got to 3-1, the game was basically over.
“In Botola, once the opposition scores and it’s 2-1, the game is very difficult. So congratulations to the boys and they did it for coach Mokwena.”
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