Why Mokwena doesn’t regret not joining Mosimane at Al Ahly
"Turning down Al Ahly and coach Pitso in particular was very difficult," said Mokwena.
Rulani Mokwena (right) has explained why he did not join Pitso Mosimane (left) at Al Ahly (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
A few months after Rulani Mokwena rejoined Mamelodi Sundowns from Orlando Pirates, he was presented with an opportunity to join Pitso Mosimane at Al Ahly as his assistant coach, but he turned down the offer.
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Mosimane went on to win the Caf Super Cup, Egyptian Cup, two Caf Champions League and two bronze medals in the Fifa Club World Cup.
With all that glory and achievements that he could have achieved with Mosimane, Mokwena says he has no regrets.
“I don’t want to be a good coach if I am not a good human being. Being a good human being is to turn down lucrative possibilities for you to grow your career to keep your values of honesty and intergrity. When I said four years to the president, it must be four years and you want to invest a lot of time in making the four years a success,” said Mokwena on Diski Talk with Luyolo.
“Turning down Al Ahly and coach Pitso in particular was very difficult,” he said.
“It is not easy to turn coach Pitso down but until today, I think that was the right decision. When I had to tell him that I was going to Pirates, it was hard and it took him a very long time to accept that. He felt betrayed, rightfully so. I also would have felt the same but turning him down to go to Egypt was even bigger, you can imagine. He is someone I have huge of admiration and respect for. He played a huge role in my career,” Mokwena added.
The former Chippa United and Buccaneer coach also revealed that he turned down offers from Egyptian heavyweights Zamalek and Tanzanian giants Simba SC. This, he hopes, is enough for him to mend the rocky relationship between him and Sundowns supporters.
“I’ve been begged from teams like Zamalek, Simba and so many teams on the African continent. I hope that is enough to show that I am committed to this club and this group of people who want to see this club in a good position and that is not easy to communicate with the supporters except through actions.”
