Rulani Mokwena’s short-lived Morocco experience prepared him for strong start in Algeria

After parting ways with Moroccan club Wydad Casablanca, highly rated South African soccer coach Rulani Mokwena is enjoying life with his new Algerian team – MC Alger. He lasted less than a season in Morocco, in what was his bravest career move to date.    

After doing his best in the precarious situation in which the Red Castle found itself, it was not good enough for him to stay on. 

Wydad said Mokwena had suffered “significant psychological pressures” in the latter stages of his brief tenure, with unrealistic expectations from fans and some members of the club’s hierarchy the key contributors to this strain. 

Wydad woes  

Mokwena had entered the Red Castle with one mandate: reignite their faded aura as an African giant. That he was granted three years to try to achieve this seemed to imply that the tactician would be given ample room to manoeuvre. 

After all, the Wydad Mokeona inherited and was tasked with transforming were coming off their worst season in a decade. They had ended their campaign outside the Moroccan Premier League’s top two for the first time in a decade. 

The team was also in financial turmoil and had to scramble to undo a Fifa transfer ban over remuneration owed to former players. By the time this was resolved the Moroccan giants had lost a number of key players and Mokwena was required to build a team from scratch. 

Despite this and a tangible improvement within the team last season, there was no patience. Despite the team finishing a respectable third in the league, Mokwena was forced out. 

Lessons learnt

He says that experience carried a number of valuable lessons, which have made him a better coach and human being since his arrival in Algeria in mid-2025.

“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,” said this week to a small group of journalists.  

“But it’s an extremely rewarding experience too. You develop not just qualities for leading yourself, but also being able to lead others and watch them develop to become better versions of themselves,” he said.

Mokwena says the team’s presence in the African Champions League convinced him to align with Alger. As for expectations from the club, the instruction had been to “be better than last season”. In 2024/25, Alger won the domestic double and reached the Champions League quarterfinals.

Under Mokwena’s tutelage they started their 2025/26 league campaign in fine form. They sit at the summit after eight matches, with seven victories and a draw. The team is yet to taste defeat. 

They have also successfully made it into the Champions League group stage, where one of the teams that await is Mokwena’s former employer, Mamelodi Sundowns. 

Applying the lessons learnt 

Mokwena says his experience with Wydad has made him much more reserved. Much like one of his many mentors, Pitso Mosimane, Mokwena has never been afraid to speak his mind. But in Algeria he has taken a different approach.

“From a personal perspective, I’ve learnt that there’s a lot of reward in silence. Working a little bit harder behind the scenes and speaking less in the media, and even on social media… But I like the solitude and the ability to sit and watch my work speak for itself,” he said.

“So, that’s what I’ve learnt about myself. That I don’t always have to speak. I don’t always have to defend myself and I don’t always have to focus on things that won’t help me become a better person,” the 38-year-old added.

“I don’t think I’m the best coach in Africa. No. But I do think that I am the hardest-working coach. That’s a weapon of mine that I have to trust more than my mouth. That’s been my biggest takeaway and the biggest change in my personality over the last year or so.”

Breaking barriers 

In Algeria, coaching the reigning champions, Mokwena feels a bit more at ease than he did in Morocco, partly because of Algeria’s appreciation for South Africa and the strong diplomatic relations between the nations. 

Mokwena also believes Mosimane shattered a number of stereotypes emanating from north Africa about southern Africa. Mosimane enjoyed an extremely fruitful spell with Egyptian giants Al Ahly between 2020 and 2022.

“Were there preconceived notions [about South Africans in north Africa before Mosimane]? I think there were,” said Mokwena.  

“But I’m not sure I’m the right person to speak too much about those. Although I faced much more of those in Morocco than in Algeria. In Algeria there is a strong appreciation for South Africans, probably because of the close relationship, politically, between Algeria and South Africa,” the coach continued. 

“One of the biggest stadiums in Algeria is called the Nelson Mandela Stadium… So there’s quite a lot associated with South Africa and our late state president. That allows for South Africans [in Algeria] to be given a bit more respect.”

Of course, despite Mokwena feeling more settled in Algeria, helped by his experiences in Morocco, he still has to deliver the required results. 

Otherwise the pressures of the job will bubble to the surface once more. At least he is better equipped to handle them now as he continues to grow. DM