Rulani Mokwena has parted ways with MC Alger, bringing an eight-month stint at the Algerian champions to a close, but what’s next? He leaves the club perched at the top of the league table, with 11 matches remaining in the season.
Mokwena, who took over the reins at the start of the season, looked poised to help them defend the league title. He had already bagged the Algerian Super Cup while Sead Ramovic’s CR Belouizdad booted him out of the Algerian Cup quarterfinal. Belouizdad advanced to the cup semifinals with a 3-2 extra-time victory on Tuesday.
In the CAF Champions League, his journey ended at the hands of Mamelodi Sundowns in the group stages.
MC Alger released a statement on his departure, noting that the decision followed a mutual agreement between Mokwena and the club’s management. Translated from Arabic, it read: “After discussions with the management, the coach expressed his desire to end his contract with the team after an eight-month tenure. During this period, Mokwena led the club to win the Algerian Super Cup and maintained top position in the league. He also guided the team through campaigns in the Algerian Cup and the CAF Champions League. The management thanks Mokwena and his staff for their dedication and wishes them success in their future endeavours.”
WHERE COULD RULANI MOKWENA COACH NEXT?
With the Algerian chapter closed, the 39-year-old mentor is on the verge of joining Libyan Premier League giants Al Ittihad SC. The former Mamelodi Sundowns mentor has reportedkty been in talks with Al Ittihad.
All things being equal, Mokwena will be unveiled in the coming days to lead the ambitious project of the 18-time Libyan champions. Interestingly, the Tripoli-based club is home to South African attacker Thembinkosi Lorch.
Mokwena has a long history with Lorch, having worked with the talented attacker at Wydad, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns. Burkina Faso star Stephane Aziz Ki, a player the former Sundowns coach is known to admire, is also at the cash-rich club.
While Mokwena left Wydad before Aziz Ki arrived, he has long admired the Burkinabé international and has closely followed his career during Ki’s time at Young Africans.
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