Rulani Mokwena’s Wydad Athletic Club reign has come to an end after the club terminated his deal even before the end of the season with Amine Benhachem replacing him on Thursday.
Mokwena had agreed to leave the club at the end of the current campaign but his nadir came quicker than agreed after Wednesday’s 1-1 draw away to OC Safi that left Wydad six points behind second-placed AS FAR who are in the final Champions League qualification spot.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach has lasted just nine months into what was supposed to be a three-year project with his reputation battered somewhat after four great years at Chloorkop.
But how did what promised to be a dream job turn into a nightmare for Mokwena?
Mokwena may have taken the job too soon
Just after getting sacked by Sundowns in July 2024, one week did not end before Mokwena was linked with the Wydad job and a week later, he was being unveiled in Casablanca.
Mokwena spoke of how Wydad president Hicham Ait Menna had made him fall in love with the club after lauding his attractive style of football but the 38-year-old might not have known that he might not be given time, which he badly needed.
Walking into a giant club that had finished sixth the previous season, it was considered that Mokwena would be given time but that has not happened with the tactician called out every time results are not impressive.
That has got some feeling Mokwena might have taken the job too early, backing himself to turn around Wydad’s fortunes without fully understanding the size of the job on his hands and weight of expectations.
Weak team, demanding fans
A team that finished sixth cannot always be expected to be champions the following season yet this is what Wydad fans demanded from Mokwena every week.
The South African coach was always on the receiving end whenever Wydad drew or lost, getting abused and even water bottles thrown at him, as fans demanded instant results.
Mokwena had overseen a huge influx of players but somehow, he was expected to perform magic and win every game, even when it was clear the team was far from ready and he needed multiple transfer windows to put the pieces together.
This led to a falling out with the coach becoming unpopular among fans match by match and their pressure led to Mokwena’s departure.
Wydad’s too many signings
Mokwena was also not helped by the fact that Wydad signed so many players ahead of this season and added more in January.
South Africans Cassius Mailula and Thembinkosi Lorch, both on loan from Toronto FC and Mamelodi Sundowns respectively, are among a handful who have impressed but most of the new recruits disappointed.
Mokwena has taken blame for it while the new signings also took long to gel, making it difficult to get positive results consistently.
Wydad’s inconsistent results
With a squad that was not good enough, it was certain that Wydad were going to struggle but the supporters did not understand that.
A great run in January, when they won three straight games, brought hope back but five straight draws in February and March saw Mokwena lose the trust of supporters and it has been downhill since then.
Wydad have not won in the league since February 16, and a run of six games without victory, and for a club that size, that cannot be tolerated, even if the squad is not good enough, as Mokwena has discovered painfully.
Did Mokwena talk his way out of Wydad?
The other thing that might have also accelerated Mokwena’s departure is his war of words with supporters.
Since he arrived at Wydad, Mokwena has not missed a moment to remind the fans that their team is poor but most of them saw it as a way of covering his shortcomings and when results did not come, they pounced.
Instead of retreating, Mokwena maintained the onslaught and it seems his employers also got fed up and decided to get him out of his misery while also keeping the fans happy.
