Phakama Rhulani Mokwena, ixesha lifikile
If you follow South African politics keenly you might have heard comrades from the ruling party singing a song with the lyrics “phakama Ramaphosa, ixesha lisondele,” meaning rise up, the time has arrived.
Rhulani Mokwena, head coach of Chippa United (Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix)
This was when president Cyril Ramaphosa ascended to the highest office in the land state.
If Orlando Pirates were a political party, I am sure that a certain section of their supporters’ branch would be singing phakama Rhulani, ixesha lisondele. This is simply because a lot of the Buccaneers faithful seem to believe in Mokwena, who has now been tasked to lead Pirates following the untimely resignation of Micho Sredojević, who has since taken up the hot seat at Egyptian side Zamalek.
There are a few assistant coaches who are gloried quite like Mokwena, whose resume carries more weight than most of the head coaches in the whole of the Premier Soccer League where titles are concerned. But all that glitz and glamour come from his previous gig as Pitso Mosimane’s second-in-command (together with Manqoba Mngqithi) at Mamelodi Sundowns.
At Pirates, the well-spoken Mokwena has nothing to show for his efforts as Micho’s assistant bar the two Absa Premiership silver medals and a second-place finish in the Telkom Knockout Cup. Yes, Pirates did claim the Carling Cup in pre-season and by the look of things, it seems as though they are struggling to get over the hangover.
Now that Mokwena has stepped out of the shadows, it is time for the man – who is said to have football genes with paternity to the Sea Robbers as his father, Julius Sono, grandfather Eric Sono and our darling Jomo Sono, who is Mokwena’s uncle, all played for the Ghost – to take a stand and show what he is made of. We all saw him barking instructions from the dugout alongside Micho and sometimes it looked as though he was overstepping his mark. He now has to do it in a different capacity as the leader of the technical team.
There were talks suggesting that Mokwena was the one who was the mastermind behind Sundowns’ success during his tenure at Chloorkop and the same has been said now that he is at Pirates. Whether there is any truth in either rumour, it is really immaterial at this point.
I read somewhere that it takes less than five games for Pirates fans to turn their backs on a coach. Right now they are unhappy and it is in the hands of Mokwena to put his money where his mouth is and make the Happy People happy again.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
