Mokwena: I couldn't be in the same environment with Zinnbauer

A better man, Rhulani Mokwena is not bitter that he left Orlando Pirates because he couldn’t be in the same environment as the current boss at the Buccaneers, Josef Zinnbauer. Photo: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix

A better man, Rhulani Mokwena is not bitter that he left Orlando Pirates because he couldn’t be in the same environment as the current boss at the Buccaneers, Josef Zinnbauer. Photo: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix

Published Apr 5, 2020

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A better man, Rhulani Mokwena is not bitter that he left Orlando Pirates because he couldn’t be in the same environment as the current boss at the Buccaneers, Josef Zinnbauer.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns assistant coach opened up for the first time about his departure from the Sea Robbers. Mokwena is currently coaching Chippa United.

Before he left Pirates, he went on study leave after Zinnbauer took over the Bucs coaching reins.

“I spent a lot of time during December and January speaking to people and colleagues about my experiences and then you get to understand that it is about preparation, it is about growth and there’s a lot of discomfort in growth. But you take them as lessons and you start to grow and move on. That’s it. I think, it was a fantastic experience for me and it has prepared me for the future,” Mokwena acknowledged.

Mokwena joined the Buccaneers as an assistant coach to Milutin Sredojevic. But when the Serbian left, Mokwena became interim coach. Following a string of poor results, Pirates appointed Zinnbauer as the new head coach. That resulted in Mokwena disappearing from the Pirates bench.

“I took a study break and then I left and went to the UK. I visited a friend of mine, Matty Newbury who works for Liverpool. Fortunately, you get an opportunity to see how they work and you learn how the academy works and how their scouting works. That was really, for me, refreshing to be in a different environment. It also gave me time and space to take stock. To watch and get them to watch some of our games at Pirates and how we conduct our training sessions and get feedback. It was fantastic and a great learning experience,” he added.

After his sabbatical, Mokwena popped up at the Chilli Boys.

“I came back and then I was at home. I continued with my studies and tried to see how do I grow and what do I want to do going forward because it was clear that we couldn’t be in the same sort of environment with the new Orlando Pirates coach (Zinnbauer) and that’s okay, it is normal. People have their ways of working. Even myself as a head coach, there are things and people that I want to work with and that I don’t want to work with. That’s normal, you can’t fault anybody for that."

Mokwena is happy Pirates have done well under Zinnabuer.

“It’s good to see that the team is doing well. The club invests a lot of time behind the scenes. It was for the betterment of the dynamics within the organisation that I took a bit of a break,” Mokwena elaborated.

Mokwena maintains there's no bad blood between him and Zinnbauer.

“We don’t really know each other to have bad blood. You try as much as possible to be a professional. To do things by the book is to engage more with the chairman of the club (Irvin Khoza) who has always shown confidence in my ability throughout my time at the club, even when I was the interim coach and an assistant coach. That’s the guy that brought me to the club and convinced me to come to the club. I had several meetings with the chairman. Maybe people who were talking were talking without having consulted the chairman himself,” Mokwena explained.

Mokwena feels he is a better man after his stint as Pirates coach.

“Yo, big time (admitting that his stint with Pirates helped him to grow). I always tell people that my time at Platinum Stars was like high school. My time at Mamelodi Sundowns was like getting a doctorate at Harvard University.

"The reality is that I worked with one of the best players in one of our biggest institutions. I worked with Dr Irvin Khona who is the most experienced and the most influential football leader in the country. For me as a coach, it was incredible. But more over for me as a human being, it was great.”

@minenhlecr7

Sunday Independent 

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