WeeklySA_AdminLOCAL NOT LEKKER: TWO SA COACHES SACKED IN A YEAR AS OVERSEAS INFLUENCE SWEEPS OVER ‘THE YELLOW NATION’…
By Ali Mphaki
Out went Rhulani. Out goes Manqoba. All within six months. The two black local coaches widely considered among the best in the country, but surprisingly no longer good enough to be at the helm of the reigning champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
When both were announced as joint head coaches in early 2020, a beaming then chairman Patrice Motsepe said Manqoba and Rhulani have been with Sundowns for many years and were part of the Technical Team that were crowned Champions of Africa in 2016 and have also won the Premier Soccer League and other titles in South Africa.
“The board of Mamelodi Sundowns was particularly keen to appoint South African coaches and express its commitment and confidence in the talent and ability of our local coaches,” said an emphatic Motsepe. Whilst Manqoba had been with Sundowns since 2013, the duo was subsequently joined by Steve Komphela as part of the technical team in October 2020, “ with the opinion of Mngithi prevailing when there isn’t consensus”.
In what was seen as a “Palace Coup”, the Sundowns hierarchy would in the same month announce further coaching changes, this time assigning Manqoba to a new role as Sundowns’ senior coach in what is a demotion from the position of co-coach – working under new head coach Rhulani Mokwena. Dubbed “The Three Musketeers”, the trio would under Rhulani go on to win the SA Premiership division in 2021–22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 seasons.
They also annexed the African Football League cup in 2023. Sources within the club say trouble for Mokwena and them has its genesis with the arrival of Flemming Berg from Denmark as the club’s new Sporting Director in April 2022, a man reputed to have seen numerous talented players emerge across the best European leagues. Berg came in highly recommended specially with the 7 years that he spent at Chelsea Football Club as an international scout, gaining him invaluable scouting experience in Spain, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
He has also held the position of Chief Scout for Chelsea in Portugal, which is probably where he met with Miguel Cardoso, the Portuguese coach who was announced this week to take over at the Yellow Nation.
It took Berg about 16 months being at the club to crack the whip, as was seen when Rhulani was relieved of his duties during the off-season in July 2024 with Manqoba immediately assuming the hot seat. Five months into his job, Manqoba got the boot this week, in what Sundowns management blames to a string of defeats and early cup exits since the beginning of the 2024/25 season.
The Brazilians have already lost out on two domestic trophies this season after suffering defeats in the 2024 MTN8 and the Carling Knockout Cup. Downs were eliminated from the two-legged semi-final of the top eight competition by Stellenbosch FC. In the Carling final at Toyota Stadium last month, Sundowns experienced a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Magesi FC.
Additionally, Sundowns have had a slow start in the CAF Champions League group stages, failing to secure maximum points against AS Maniema Union and AS FAR, respectively.
Interestingly, the Sundowns board, as stated in the club’s website says “..the introduction of the new Coaching Technical Team was necessitated by the recent unsatisfactory results despite the commitment of the Sundowns Board to give Manqoba Mngqithi and his Technical Team an opportunity to lead the Club going into the future”.
But in sealing Manqoba’s fate, chairman Thlopie Motsepe added that for the longest time Sundowns has been a team that has based itself on playing attractive, entertaining, and successful football, but in recent months the team has struggled to match that type of ambition and meet high standards we’ve set ourselves “so we share that the board and management have decided to implement a restructuring and change in coaching department.” When the team fired Rhulani they indicated the decision of Sundowns was taken by the Board taking into account the objectives and expectations of the Club and was not influenced or based on the recommendation of any individual associated with the Club.
Its hard not to see Berg’s hand in the “purging’ of black coaches disguised as a restructuring process, the sporting director whose job among others is to enhancing the clubs’ developmental structure and to provide leadership on talent development and football methodology.
For all his credibility as an overseas talent scout, Berg has so far at his recommendations been able to sign the tall as a pole Arthur de Oliveira Sales from Brazil, who joins fellow South Americans Matías Esquivel (Argentina), Marcelo Allende (Chile) and Lucas Ribeiro (Brazil) at the club.
One thing common about the Downs overseas contingent which now includes Berg, new coach Cardoso and his two assistants, is that they all speak Portuguese. Could it be that Steve Komphela, a multi-linguist of note, was saved the boot so he could help “translate” for the new Portuguese coach? Only time will tell.
Cardoso will be on the bench when Sundowns host Raja Casablanca at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Sunday. Kick off 3pm
