LOOK: Rulani Mokwena’s throwback photo excites fans
‘Smiling like Pep when he was younger’ – Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena left fans talking after sharing his throwback photo.
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena left fans talking with his throwback photo on 18 March.
Rulani had a career that shocked most South African soccer fans since he took over as Sundowns’ head coach. Usually, most coaches would be former players but Rulani took a different route.
He did not play professional soccer during his younger days but he was sure to be a success as a coach. All this made fans to know him only after he was already an adult, and a coach.
So trying to imagine how he looked as a younger boy was quite different to some coaches who grew in the spotlight. This was what Rulani did, showing fans how he looked when he was a young boy.
RULANI MOKWENA’S THROWBACK PHOTO
The talented coach took his time learning to coach soccer and he matured a little faster than most coaches. Showing how fast he had grown as a coach, Mokwena is even younger than some players in the country like Bernard Parker.
In his picture, he showed several attributes of a disciplined young boy who with good principles. The young boy was putting on a white T-shirt and shorts with green stripes.
He looked smart and fans loved it, however, the face that he was tucking in impressed more. Some fans also noticed that Rulani’s smile did not change while some lkened him to Pep Guardiola of Manchester City.
“Breaking newsđŸ™Œ coach Rulani smiling like Pep when he was younger đŸ˜‚đŸ˜‚đŸ˜‚đŸ˜‚đŸ˜‚” said a fan called Elton Khutso Malatsi
RULANI’S DECORATED CAREER
After Rulani Mokwena shared his throwback photo, we looked back into his prolific career. According to FIFA, Mokwena started his career in developmental football at Mamelodi Sundowns.
They also claimed he assisted his friends who played for other teams like Orlando Pirates. After a long time in the background, Rulani became Mamelodi Sundowns head coach graduating from being an assistant coach.
But before that, he had coached top teams like Orlando Pirates as a interim coach. Proceeding into the boots of a veteran coach Pitso Mosimane, Rulani did not disappoint the fans.
He came and took over from where Pitso had left winning s much both domestically and internationally. Since taking over, he won three consecutive South African Premier Division, Nedbank Cup in 2022, MTN 8 Cup in 2021 and African Football League in 2023.