Rhulani mokoena biography examples
Rhulani Mokwena: “Wydad wants to make history at the Club World Cup in the USA”
Photo Credit: Wydad Athletic Club- WAC
Editor Note: This article is translated from the original written in French by Omar Chraibi
The draw for the 2025 Club World Cup placed Wydad Casablanca in a tough group, alongside giants Manchester City, Juventus and Al Ain. However, Rhulani Mokwena, the South African coach of the Moroccan club, displays measured optimism, well aware of the scale of the challenge but determined to make his team shine on the world stage.
“It's a very nice group even if it is difficult,” Mokwena said in an exclusive interview with Wydad’s official YouTube channel. “We will face world-class teams, like Manchester City, the flagship club in England led by Guardiola, or Juventus, a colossus of Italian football. Without forgetting Al Ain, a big name in Asian football."
For its third participation in the Club World Cup, Wydad hopes to reach an important milestone. Mokwena sets a clear objective: to achieve a historic first victory in this competition. “In our previous participations, we never won a match. This time we have to win at least one game. We want to prove that we belong among the best and see how far that can take us."
Aware of the difficulties, Mokoena also prefers to see the glass half full: “If we fail to qualify for the finals, this experience against giants like City and Juve will be invaluable. This will strengthen our team for the seasons to come."
The Wydad coach, a fan of a game inspired by Pep Guardiola's tactical principles, sees this competition as a unique opportunity: “We are trying to develop a style of play of our own, close to that of Manchester City. These matches will be an excellent showcase for Wydad and a chance to position the club on the world football map."
As Wydad prepares for this titanic challenge, Mokwena concludes with ambition and determination: “This tourname Luthando William Bottoman's Post
For a while I had been contemplating having a male cover star for Nounouche and of all the people I could think of, there was no story, nothing new. When I heard the news of Rulani Mokwena’s appointment as the head coach of South Africa’s most celebrated football club Mamelodi Sundowns at only 35 years of age, it was a done deal… He made sense. His story is that of a David in a world full of Goliaths, a vanquisher.
I had been introduced to his work from his days at Orlando Pirates. I nervously asked him to be on the cover and I got an enthusiastic yes and here we are, deeply honoured to be telling his story.
He was born and raised in Orlando, Soweto to a single mother – Linda Mokwena, with the help of his grandmother. Rulani describes his childhood as one that was full of love and warmth but also one that saw him grow up fast and make sacrifices that would lead him to where he is now. His mother got married and moved out of Soweto when Rulani was still young and at that time he was already involved in football and chose to stay with his grandmother. He comes from a rich legacy of football. Not only is his father (Julius Sono), uncle (Jomo Sono) celebrated football figures but he marvels more at his grandfather’s (Eric ‘Scara’ Sono) legacy and impact in football which has outlived him.
Rulani Mokwena’s mantra is to always be human first. A great human at that beyond football and anything else.
The Mamelodi Sundowns head coach has a good head on his shoulders; a result of the strong, faith-filled matriarchs that raised him, and speaks with a maturity beyond his years.
While his name has been in the spotlight for several years, Rulani is someone who prefers being in the background.
That is how he approaches his coaching, a skill he learnt at the tender age of 14.
“I’m more of a leader than a manager. Managers have that need to micromanage, I don’t do that, I lead in the sense that I can be in the b
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