South African coach Rulani Mokwena has found renewed success with Algerian champions MC Alger after a brief and pressured tenure at Morocco's Wydad Casablanca. His experience in Morocco taught him valuable lessons in resilience and silence. MC Alger now leads the league unbeaten under his leadership.
More than a year ago, highly rated South African coach Rulani Mokwena took a bold career move by joining Wydad Casablanca in Morocco. He spent less than a season there, tasked with reigniting the club's status as an African giant. The team he inherited had endured its worst season in a decade, finishing outside the Moroccan Premier League's top two for the first time in 10 years. Wydad faced financial turmoil and a Fifa transfer ban due to unpaid remuneration to former players, forcing Mokwena to build a squad from scratch.
Despite these challenges, Mokwena led Wydad to a respectable third place in the league last season, showing tangible improvement. However, unrealistic expectations from fans and club hierarchy created significant psychological pressures, leading to his departure. Wydad acknowledged these strains in their statement.
In mid-2025, Mokwena joined MC Alger, the Algerian champions who won the domestic double in 2024/25 and reached the CAF Champions League quarterfinals. The club's instruction was simple: be better than last season. Under Mokwena, MC Alger has started the 2025/26 league campaign strongly, topping the table after eight matches with seven victories and one draw, remaining undefeated. They have also qualified for the Champions League group stage, where they will face Mokwena's former club, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Reflecting on his Morocco experience, Mokwena told journalists this week: “You learn a lot about yourself. One of the things I realised is that I’m stronger than I thought. A lot of people think this is an easy profession, but it’s extremely difficult.” He added that it taught him the rewards of silence: “Working a little bit harder behind the scenes and speaking less in the media... I don’t think I’m the best coach in Africa. No. But I do think that I am the hardest-working coach.”
Mokwena feels more at ease in Algeria, citing strong diplomatic ties between Algeria and South Africa, including the Nelson Mandela Stadium. He credits predecessors like Pitso Mosimane, who succeeded with Egypt's Al Ahly from 2020 to 2022, for breaking stereotypes about South African coaches in North Africa. In Algeria, there is greater appreciation for South Africans, reducing preconceived notions he faced more acutely in Morocco.
As reigning champions, MC Alger expects results, but Mokwena's growth equips him better to handle pressures.