Mokwena has grown to be his own man, and deserves plaudits

RULANI Mokwena has shown that he has nerves of steel, and given all that he’s achieved and taken on the chin in recent years, he’s destined for greatness.

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Before writing this op-ed, rumours had been rife that he has been released by Moroccan giants Wydad Casablanca after a string of poor results.

And this was despite Mokwena and his agent Steve Kapelushnik recently telling the media that they’ve agreed with the club to part ways at the end of the season.

So, whatever happens, possibilities are high that Mokwena won't be the club's coach beyond this season, ruling out chances of him coaching at the Club World Cup in June.

And sure, it will be easy for naysayers to say ‘there goes his dream of coaching against his idol, Manchester City’s coach Pep Guardiola’, as he was looking forward to that in the US.

But perhaps it’ll be only sensible for us to realise that Mokwena’s dream might only be delayed, and not denied. He's still got his best years ahead of him.

It’s only important to realise that Mokwena didn’t fail at Wydad. If anything, he succeeded, and was close to waking up a sleeping giant.