Former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has fired a clear warning to his old club, declaring his MC Alger side are travelling to South Africa for a crucial CAF Champions League fight, not a friendly reunion.
The Algerians kept their qualification hopes firmly alive with a gritty 2-1 victory over Al Hilal Omdurman in Algiers, a result that pushes them into second place in the tight Group C with seven points. After savouring the win, Mokwena immediately set his sights on the decisive final group game away to Sundowns.
“Allow me to enjoy this victory first! Yes, 24 hours to enjoy this victory,” he said post match, before quickly shifting focus. “What it does is it helps us keep things in our own hands. We targeted 10 points, and now we still have a chance with one more game to get 10 points.”
It’s that final game which now presents a dramatic homecoming for the celebrated coach, but Mokwena insists sentiment won’t enter the equation. His message before the Al Hilal clash was blunt and hasn’t changed.
“I don’t want to be taking the players to South Africa to go meet my family and friends,” he stated. “We want to go to South Africa to get three points. But whether or not we go for a safari or for three points depends on what we do.”
With the job now done in Algiers, the safari is off the agenda. The mission is strictly business. Mokwena identified “perseverance” as the key trait his side will need at Loftus Versfeld, where a win could seal their passage to the knockout stages at the expense of their hosts or Al Hilal.
Group C remains on a knife edge, with Sundowns also battling to secure their own progression. While South African fans will eagerly welcome back the charismatic tactician, Mokwena has made it clear there will be no nostalgia trip. His return is purely professional, and his Algerian side are coming with a ruthless, single objective: to wreck the party and steal the points that could define both clubs’ continental campaigns.
