Mystery of the missing Orlando Pirates coach
Bucs official says club has no idea where Mokwena is, other than that he is on leave
The mystery over the status of Orlando Pirates assistant coach Rhulani Mokwena has deepened after the club said it did not know where he was or how long he would be on leave.
Mokwena, one of Pirates’ two assistant coaches with Fadlu Davids, remains on leave, Bucs’ administrative manager Floyd Mbele said.
“We don’t know where he is. We don’t know when he will be back,” Mbele said.
Mokwena took over as Pirates’ caretaker coach when head coach Milutin Sredojevic abruptly left three games into the 2019-2020 campaign.
He struggled for results and, on December 10, Josef Zinnbauer, a former Hamburger SV and St Gallen coach, was appointed head coach.
Mokwena sat on the bench as assistant to Zinnbauer in the German’s first match — a 3-1 Premiership victory against Black Leopards at Orlando Stadium on December 21.
Mokwena has since been on leave for almost six weeks.
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane, who had Mokwena as his assistant when Downs won the 2016 Caf Champions League, said he believed Mokwena had gone on a coaching course in Europe.
Mbele said Pirates had no knowledge of this. “We are still not aware of the reports that he is on a coaching course in Europe,” he said.
Zinnbauer also gave a vague response when asked at a media conference on Sunday about his second-in-command.
“For three weeks I give the same things [answers],” an annoyed Zinnbauer said. “Always the same question and I give you the same information. When he is back, he is back, and when he is not back, he is not back.”
Mbele declined to comment when asked for his opinion on the view of Pirates legend Jomo Sono that Mokwena, 34, was thrown in the deep end too early when he was made caretaker coach at Bucs.