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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rulani Mokwena is no longer the head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns, with the Tshwane club confirming an “amicable” parting of ways with the 37-year-old tactician on Wednesday.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2181581\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/TL_2214591.jpg\" alt=\"Sundowns Mokwena axed\" width=\"1884\" height=\"1100\" /> <em>Rhulani Mokwena, axed head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns. (Photo: Darren Stewart / Gallo Images)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Soweto-born coach was appointed Sundowns’ co-coach in 2020, following the departure of Pitso Mosimane. He ascended to head coach in 2022. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Falling short in the</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Caf Champions League</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> ultimately cost him his job with the Brazilians. At least, that is the explanation the club has provided while confirming his departure.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The decision of Mamelodi Sundowns was taken by the board, taking into account the objectives and expectations of the club,” a Sundowns statement said.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There were murmurs that ideological clashes with Masandawana’s current sporting director Flemming Berg on transfers and playing style had forced Mokwena’s departure.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sundowns have denied this, saying the decision to serve divorce papers on Mokwena “was not influenced or based on the recommendation of any individual associated with the club”.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1938363 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/B23KLMN3195.jpg\" alt=\"Sundowns Mokwena axed\" width=\"3644\" height=\"2194\" /> <em>Rhulani Mokwena (left), head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns, celebrates with Sundowns chair Tlhopane Motsepe and the team after winning the African Football League 2023 final against Wydad AC at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria on 12 November 2023. (Photo: Muzi Ntombela / BackpagePix)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mokwena’s assistant, Manqoba Mngqithi, will be interim head coach over the next couple of weeks as the club searches for a new sheriff. Mngqithi will undoubtedly be interested in occupying the role permanently, having been at the club for more than a decade.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Final campaign</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In what would ultimately prove to be Mokwena’s final campaign as the leader of the Brazilians, the club </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-05-28-sundowns-starred-while-other-teams-fought-for-lead-supporting-role-in-dstv-premiership-campaign/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">won the league by accumulating a record number of points in the 30-game DStv Premiership</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Masandawana collected 73 points to improve on their previous mark of 71.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They also finished 23 points ahead of runners-up Orlando Pirates – breaking another milestone (of 16 points between first and second) that they had themselves set. They achieved this after losing just one league tie in the entire season – a 1-0 defeat to Cape Town City on the final day of the campaign.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The loss to City also snapped a 53-game unbeaten streak in the league for Sundowns. Before losing that crucial contest, they had last been defeated in September 2022.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“We would’ve loved to do it a different way [by not losing our final game of the season]. But a wise man once told me that we plan, but God decides. The Almighty decided that it should culminate like this,” Mokwena said</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the time.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2093104\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TL_2183991.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"5568\" height=\"3712\" /> <em>Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena during the DStv Premiership match against SuperSport United at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on 12 March 2024. (Photo: Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite that disappointment, Sundowns were crowned league champions for a record-extending seventh successive season after leading from start to finish in 2023/24.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That title also stretched Sundowns’ overall tally in the Premier Soccer League to 14 Premiership crowns; 10 more than the next-best sides, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The only other teams to be crowned South African champions under the current guise of the league — which has been around since 1996 — were Bidvest Wits, Manning Rangers and Santos. They each clinched the title once.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Cup capitulation</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While they maintained their tight grip on the domestic league, Sundowns and Mokwena lost two domestic finals last season. They were defeated 3-1 on penalties by Pirates in the MTN8 final.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Sea Robbers would return to haunt Masandawana once more in the Nedbank Cup final – this time beating their Gauteng neighbours 2-1 to clinch a Cup double. Victory in that decider might have saved Mokwena.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nevertheless, with yet another Caf Champions League disappointment for Sundowns, it was always poised to be a tough battle for Mokwena to survive the scrutiny.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mokwena and his men </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-04-29-sun-sets-on-yet-another-season-of-champions-league-heartbreak-for-mamelodi-sundowns/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">went down 2-0 on aggregate to Tunisia’s Espérance</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in last season’s semifinal phase, extending the team’s wait for a second Champions League title to eight years.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“This is my second season and we’ve done back-to-back semifinals already,” Mokwena had said when quizzed on whether he considered not winning the Champions League a failure for the </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">serial South African champions.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Sometimes I have the feeling that people don’t appreciate that, because of how they perceive the expectations.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mokwena, who is leaving the club for a second time after rejoining in 2020, is unlikely to be short of job offers. </span><b>DM</b>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick’s</span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> journalism is funded by the contributions of our Maverick Insider members. If you appreciate our work, then join our membership community. Defending Democracy is an everyday effort. Be part of it.</span></i><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/insider/?utm_source=dm_website&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=cabinet_announcement\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Become a Maverick Insider</span></i></a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></i>",
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"description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rulani Mokwena is no longer the head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns, with the Tshwane club confirming an “amicable” parting of ways with the 37-year-old tactician on Wednesday.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2181581\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1884\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-2181581\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/TL_2214591.jpg\" alt=\"Sundowns Mokwena axed\" width=\"1884\" height=\"1100\" /> <em>Rhulani Mokwena, axed head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns. (Photo: Darren Stewart / Gallo Images)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Soweto-born coach was appointed Sundowns’ co-coach in 2020, following the departure of Pitso Mosimane. He ascended to head coach in 2022. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Falling short in the</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Caf Champions League</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> ultimately cost him his job with the Brazilians. At least, that is the explanation the club has provided while confirming his departure.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The decision of Mamelodi Sundowns was taken by the board, taking into account the objectives and expectations of the club,” a Sundowns statement said.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There were murmurs that ideological clashes with Masandawana’s current sporting director Flemming Berg on transfers and playing style had forced Mokwena’s departure.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sundowns have denied this, saying the decision to serve divorce papers on Mokwena “was not influenced or based on the recommendation of any individual associated with the club”.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1938363\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"3644\"]<img class=\"wp-image-1938363 size-full\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/B23KLMN3195.jpg\" alt=\"Sundowns Mokwena axed\" width=\"3644\" height=\"2194\" /> <em>Rhulani Mokwena (left), head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns, celebrates with Sundowns chair Tlhopane Motsepe and the team after winning the African Football League 2023 final against Wydad AC at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria on 12 November 2023. (Photo: Muzi Ntombela / BackpagePix)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mokwena’s assistant, Manqoba Mngqithi, will be interim head coach over the next couple of weeks as the club searches for a new sheriff. Mngqithi will undoubtedly be interested in occupying the role permanently, having been at the club for more than a decade.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Final campaign</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In what would ultimately prove to be Mokwena’s final campaign as the leader of the Brazilians, the club </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-05-28-sundowns-starred-while-other-teams-fought-for-lead-supporting-role-in-dstv-premiership-campaign/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">won the league by accumulating a record number of points in the 30-game DStv Premiership</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Masandawana collected 73 points to improve on their previous mark of 71.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They also finished 23 points ahead of runners-up Orlando Pirates – breaking another milestone (of 16 points between first and second) that they had themselves set. They achieved this after losing just one league tie in the entire season – a 1-0 defeat to Cape Town City on the final day of the campaign.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The loss to City also snapped a 53-game unbeaten streak in the league for Sundowns. Before losing that crucial contest, they had last been defeated in September 2022.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“We would’ve loved to do it a different way [by not losing our final game of the season]. But a wise man once told me that we plan, but God decides. The Almighty decided that it should culminate like this,” Mokwena said</span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the time.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2093104\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"5568\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-2093104\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TL_2183991.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"5568\" height=\"3712\" /> <em>Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena during the DStv Premiership match against SuperSport United at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on 12 March 2024. (Photo: Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite that disappointment, Sundowns were crowned league champions for a record-extending seventh successive season after leading from start to finish in 2023/24.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That title also stretched Sundowns’ overall tally in the Premier Soccer League to 14 Premiership crowns; 10 more than the next-best sides, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The only other teams to be crowned South African champions under the current guise of the league — which has been around since 1996 — were Bidvest Wits, Manning Rangers and Santos. They each clinched the title once.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Cup capitulation</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While they maintained their tight grip on the domestic league, Sundowns and Mokwena lost two domestic finals last season. They were defeated 3-1 on penalties by Pirates in the MTN8 final.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Sea Robbers would return to haunt Masandawana once more in the Nedbank Cup final – this time beating their Gauteng neighbours 2-1 to clinch a Cup double. Victory in that decider might have saved Mokwena.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nevertheless, with yet another Caf Champions League disappointment for Sundowns, it was always poised to be a tough battle for Mokwena to survive the scrutiny.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mokwena and his men </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-04-29-sun-sets-on-yet-another-season-of-champions-league-heartbreak-for-mamelodi-sundowns/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">went down 2-0 on aggregate to Tunisia’s Espérance</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in last season’s semifinal phase, extending the team’s wait for a second Champions League title to eight years.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“This is my second season and we’ve done back-to-back semifinals already,” Mokwena had said when quizzed on whether he considered not winning the Champions League a failure for the </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">serial South African champions.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Sometimes I have the feeling that people don’t appreciate that, because of how they perceive the expectations.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mokwena, who is leaving the club for a second time after rejoining in 2020, is unlikely to be short of job offers. </span><b>DM</b>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick’s</span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> journalism is funded by the contributions of our Maverick Insider members. If you appreciate our work, then join our membership community. Defending Democracy is an everyday effort. Be part of it.</span></i><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/insider/?utm_source=dm_website&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=cabinet_announcement\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Become a Maverick Insider</span></i></a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span></i>",
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Rhulani Mokwena, axed head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns. (Photo: Darren Stewart / Gallo Images)
Rhulani Mokwena (left), head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns, celebrates with Sundowns chair Tlhopane Motsepe and the team after winning the African Football League 2023 final against Wydad AC at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria on 12 November 2023. (Photo: Muzi Ntombela / BackpagePix)
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena during the DStv Premiership match against SuperSport United at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on 12 March 2024. (Photo: Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images)