Rulani Mokwena will take over at MC Alger faced with the demands of bringing the popular Algerian club into the higher echelons of continental football.
Mokwena has accepted the task of taking over at the Algerian giants – a club that can be as difficult as it came be enthralling.
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The People’s Club were domestic champions last season, but their appetite will stretch beyond that in the new season as they take aim at going past the quarterfinals of the CAF Champions League.
Their 2024/25 Champions League campaign came to an end in the last eight against Orlando Pirates with the second leg having an ugly ending in Soweto.
In appointing Mokwena, they are hoping to scale the hurdle that has proven too high for them since they were African kings in 1976.
Mokwena takes the MCA job with the benefits of maintaining his place in the bracket of top-earning coaches on the continent found at clubs in Egypt, South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.
There will be a handsome monthly bank notification moving towards USD45 000 (approx. R807 000) for the 38-year-old.
Confirmation has been established that he will earn similar to what he was getting at Mamelodi Sundowns.
The packages at Chloorkop measure up to what is considered top bracket earnings on the continent and only comparable to a select clubs in North Africa.
Mokwena will have the benefit of having his preferred technical team after agreeing to a two-year deal at MCA.
The hope for this job is that he stays for the full length of his contract, unlike what happened at Wydad Casablanca, where a variety of issues meant he didn’t even last for a year.
Entering Algeria will come with rekindling the famous rivalry with Sead Ramovic, who is the head coach at fellow Algiers-based club CR Belouizdad.
Mokwena’s work from his time at Sundowns is still admired across the continent.
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He took charge of the dressing room in October 2022 after Manqoba Mngqithi was pushed aside from the co-head coaching role they had shared.
After winning his first 14 in a row, he piled up his victory total to 25 by August 2023 after 36 games in charge.
Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
