Mokwena's North African adventure continues

Soccer Laduma's Kamogelo Motecwane delves into the kind of environment the South African will be walking into in terms of the history, culture, and expectations of the club.

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Rhulani Mokwena has officially been confirmed as the head coach of MC Alger. The 38-year-old will be taking over what is considered Algeria’s biggest club, in perhaps the most defining moment of his career yet. The tribulations of his story in Morocco last season have not deterred him from continuing in North Africa, and now the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 will be the canvas on which he etches the latest chapter in his career. Still regarded as one of the most progressive young technocrats in world football, Mokwena will likely be looking to live up to — and even exceed — expectations.

Beaumelle. Last year, they lost Belaili, he went to Esperance de Tunis. They looked decent, you know, they pushed Pirates in the CAF Champions League, they went to the quarterfinals,” he added.

“Defensively, they had the best defence in the group stages and a lot of those players have returned. So, he has a very good goalkeeper, he has good defenders, and he has good midfielders. The thing that was missing was Youcef Belaili, who left last year.

“They were missing a creative player, like an attacking midfielder, a number 10, somebody who splits the defence open with passes, as well as a striker. They signed that striker in January, they signed a guy from Guinea, his name is Mohamed Bangoura, he’s only 21 years old and he was incredible last year. Seven goals in 10 games, so he has a really young and confident striker to work with. I think they're just missing that creative midfielder and there's very heavy rumours at the moment that Belaili will actually return.