Feutmba not surprised by Mokwena exit from Sundowns

As the post-mortem of Rulani Mokwena’s exit at Mamelodi Sundowns continues, club legend Roger Feutmba says he understands why the club made the change.

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A lot of Sundowns fans are shocked that their former coach who picked up the DStv Premiership and African Football League in his last season in charge was sacked.

Defeats to Orlando Pirates in both finals of the MTN8 Cup and Nedbank Cup clearly didn’t sit well with Sundowns management.

The Brazilians also faltered in the Caf Champions League semifinals for two consecutive seasons.

It was widely reported that Mokwena’s departure had a lot to do with his strained relationship with sporting director Flemming Berg but the club said in a statement that the change was necessitated by their objectives ahead of next season.

“We have to remember that every team has a target and one of those targets was the Caf Champions League. Rulani has done well according to many people but if the club feels that the mandate was not fulfilled, it’s normal that the club released him,” Feutmba said on Radio 2000

“He has been the coach for two years and he hasn’t won it and only won the league but Sundowns has won the league seven times in a row. The main target for the club I believe was the Champions League so it might be the reason that going forward they have to look at someone else.

“What happened has shocked supporters but these types of things happen everywhere in the world and that is football. They have to understand that the management of Sundowns believe that winning the league is not enough and what they have in resources, they believe that they can go far in the champions league.”

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Sundowns’ only Champions League title came in 2016 where Mokwena served as an assistant coach to Pitso Mosimane.

It is an open secret that the Tshwane giants are desperate to hit the same heights again and failing to win the coveted prize reportedly contributed to Mokwena’s demise at the club.

“Remember that Sundowns is a big team and the expectations are high. The mandate at Sundowns is not only the league because everyone can see that they are dominating and they can win the league anytime they want,” Feutmba continued.

“The main target for the past season was the Champions League and even though we were playing good football but that good football has to give you trophies especially the ones that matter most so nothing happened and from the management side, they see that the mandate was not fulfilled.

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“People know that Sundowns will 70% win the league but people must not forget that Sundowns want to dominate in Africa by winning the Champions League and if that was the mandate given to him at the beginning of the season, it’s normal that management will feel let’s look at somebody else.”