Mokwena: I look at it as a slip, not a fall

It’s been an eventful season for Rhulani Mokwena, who sat in the hotseat at Orlando Pirates when head coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic unexpectedly left the Buccaneers early in the campaign. He bravely took on the role to try and steady the Bucs ship and was at the helm for three months, before the Soweto giants brought in European mentor Josef Zinnbauer in December, which saw Mokwena sitting on the bench just once as an assistant to the German born coach. Mokwena then disappeared from the spotlight for a few months, piquing the curiosity of many a football follower, until news filtered through that he would be ‘seconded’ to Chippa United for the final few months of the campaign. In Port Elizabeth, he made a positive start with a goalless draw away from home against Bidvest Wits.

TM: Initially, it was announced that you would be making a move from Pirates to Chippa with Michael Loftman to work with you. Tell us why that didn’t happen?

RM: To be honest, I don’t know. I spoke to Michael prior to accepting and Michael showed a willingness. He was extremely inter-ested to come and, of course, we needed to get support from the chairman for it to happen. The chairman gave his blessings, but I don’t know what happened thereafter. But it’s not important. It’s just about us moving forward and providing that opportunity to someone else. We are happy with the technical team we have put together here. The players are happy with the technical team.

TM: How would you describe your few months as coach at the helm of Orlando Pirates last year?

RM: I describe it as the highlight of my career. Being in an institution like Orlando Pirates is a blessing. I look back at it with a lot of lessons and a lot of growth took place and I am grateful for that. I’ve got a long way to go and I am relatively young in this industry. When you go through turbulence, particularly at an early age of your career or whatever stage… every success story has its pitfalls. I look at it as a slip, not a fall. It was one where I’ve had to navigate myself through puddles. I had to learn different lessons on how to work with people who might not necessarily all love you. It’s the normal thing of leadership. Not everybody will love you. I got to learn how to work in a very complex organisation with a lot of influential figures who, of course in a certain way, want to have more influence than others. But that’s the reality of this and you learn to be able to deal with certain things. Those are the things we work with. Even after that, you hear from Chippa that there’s people who said to him, ‘Don’t hire him.’ Then you understand clearly how difficult it was to succeed in that sort of environment because it becomes extremely complex. But it is what it is and, through the Grace of God, we overcame it and we are prepared for bigger and great challenges. You take it and move on with a clear acceptance of saying it is what it is. 

TM: Do you think the experience has made you strong enough to face bigger challenges in future?

RM: 100 percent. Every success story has the part of having to deal with failure, having to overcome moments of difficulty and that’s what shapes your career. Once you have the right character, you are able to deal with things with a different perspective because you’ve been through a lot of difficulties. I accepted what happened at Pirates, with a clear understanding that God has bigger and better things in store.

TM: Did you see the appointment of Josef Zinnbauer coming?

RM: Yes, even long before it happened. And the technical team at Pirates can tell you that.

TM: Why do you say you saw it coming?

RM: Well, a lot of reasons. Zinnbauer was at training, at Rand Stadium, five weeks before he was announced. Those are things that you accept, but to answer your question, I did see it coming. And a lot of things were showing me signs on a day-to-day basis, but I did see it long before it came.

TM: So how did you stay focused on the job when you could see that something was happening?

RM: Well, I had a responsibility. When you are called to serve at an institution like that, it can’t be about you or your feelings and emotions. You’ve got a responsibility to represent the millions of people that follow the enormous institution. And that responsibility means you have to be diligent and respectful of the organisation and that’s it.  My love for the club and my work kept me going. And the support that I got from the chairman, confidence he had in me, allowed me to continue serving the club and do the best that I can. I believe that I did my best. Sometimes in life it’s to do your best and when you’ve done your best, you have that acceptance that you have given it your best.

TM: Why were you not on the bench after that (as an assistant)?

RM: Well, I was on the bench against Black Leopards. Certain things happened during that week and during the match, but it’s not for me to talk about those things. Even after the match, a few things happened. Anyway, I had my leave signed out because I had a trip to the UK where I visited Liverpool, West Ham and a lot of other clubs in the UK. Once I came back, my leave was still ongoing. I was still under study leave, but it was something that was already planned for.

TM: There were talks that you did not want to work with Zinnbauer!

RM: I don’t know the coach that well to say that. Things happened. He knows, I know. But that’s not important. He didn’t bring himself to the club. He’s got a responsibility and the team is doing exception-ally well at this moment and that’s what all of us have to focus on. We shouldn’t be diluting the fact that he has come in and done well to lead the team to good results and he deserves it. They have been through a difficult period. The start of the season was not very good for the club, but they have stabil-ized things and the team is in a very good position in the league. That should be the focus. What I think, what I feel, what he feels, what he thinks… I think that’s not important. The club is bigger than anybody. The recent results is what we should talk about and not these other petty issues around the game.

TM: Right now, in your career, do you only look for head coaching jobs or you’d take assistant coaching positions?

RM: I am not necessarily looking at the role. I think if you look at the role, you are going to have problems. Sometimes the role sounds nice, but the project is not ideal. The role itself does not give happiness. It’s about being in an environment where you feel valued, you feel happy and you feel you can make a contribution to-wards its greater success. So that’s where I am at the moment. I am looking more for an environment where I can grow and make a contribution towards its growth and a place where I can be challenged and appreciated.

TM: Makes sense.

RM: There were talks (to stay on as a Pirates assistant) and I engaged in those talks. If I did not want to be an assistant anymore, I would not have engaged in those talks. So, for me, it’s not about being a head coach per se. You see coaches who were head coaches and they go back and become very good assistant coaches. So, we can’t put ourselves in that sort of position, so say ‘no more’. When we feel the project is right for us to be a head coach, then of course we will look into it. But if the project is right to be an assistant coach, we will look into it.

TM: So, you would be open to return to Pirates next season and work in that role of assistant?

RM: Yeah.

TM: Would you like to get the chance to work as Bucs head coach in future?

RM: You know, I was reading an interesting interview of Julian Nagelsmann just a couple of weeks ago. He mentioned two very important things and I was like, ‘My goodness, I wish I had read this before! The first thing that struck me is that he said he had offers to be at Real Madrid and he turned them down, because he felt that at Hoffenheim he had less pressure and he could challenge himself and continue to make mistakes, but mistakes that would not be highlighted as before. Had I read this before, maybe it would have changed my thinking. But, of course, the opportunity to coach Pirates came and it caught everybody unaware. We were not preparing for Micho to resign, so it caught us unaware. But, at the same time, that’s how God works and I see people saying the timing was not right. But whose timing was it? It wasn’t my time, it wasn’t the chairman’s time… it was God’s time. Who are we to question God’s time, unless you want to play the role of God in the lives of other people? When God says it’s the time for certain things to happen, you move by faith and not by sight, with a clear acceptance of what’s happening. We tried the best we could.

TM: Your uncle, the legendary Jomo Sono, was recently quoted in the media as endorsing your possible return to the Soweto giants. How does that make you feel?

RM: He’s my father and he speaks like a father. He speaks with a lot of empathy and a lot of love. I am always grateful and he has always been an inspiration. I appreciated his wisdom. It’s humbling.

TM: Thanks for your time, Rhulani. Good luck going forward.

RM: Thank you and stay safe.