This football club is like Rome

The future of a coach in a North African club is as unpredictable as the Cape Town weather. One moment you are being praised for good results, but the next day you could be packing your bags and heading home.

- Soccer Laduma’s Tiyani wa ka Mabasa reports.

Rhulani Mokwena's new club, AI Ittihad, is just as unpredictable. They sacked Tunisian coach Khaled Ben Yahia despite his unbeaten run in 10 games; nine wins and one draw. Mokwena has stepped in to succeed Ben Yahia, and coming from Algeria's MC Alger, it's like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Despite all this, Mokwena is oozing confidence as he settles into his new role. Soccer Laduma's Tiyani wa ka Mabasa reports.

Rhulani Mokwena has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Libyan side Al-Ittihad Tripoli and has assembled what appears to be a strong technical team on paper. He will be assisted by Sinethemba Badela and Wendell Robinson, with Robinson also serving as the goalkeeper coach. Mohamed Alaa from Egypt was named the video analyst, while fellow Egyptian Mohammed Ramdane will ensure players are in top physical condition, alongside Sibusiso Mahlangu.

Mokwena admits this would be a balancing act to get results, but also to build a team for the future, with another eye on the reserve team.

"We have the responsibility to get this club back to being one of the biggest and most respected football clubs on the African continent and in the world. Of course, if you think about the immediate history of the football club, the results that we've had over the last couple of seasons, you understand how important it is to make sure that we get back to consistently winning trophies and also playing very, very good football," he said.

True to Mokwena's words, Al Ittihad have not won the league since the 2021/22 season and he's provided an interesting view of the project at hand.

"We are now like tailors. For the next two or three months, we are trying to tighten up a few buttons and cut a few sleeves, because we don't have time to make a completely new suit," he said.