Mokoena delays plans to play abroad and will stick with Sundowns

Teboho Mokoena’s dream of moving abroad is not denied but delayed, and that’s why he’s relishing the opportunity of being part of Mamelodi Sundowns’ project for now.

Mokoena has been one of the best players in the local top flight in the past two seasons, having been crowned the PSL Footballer of the Season two seasons ago.

His exploits, for the Brazilians and Bafana Bafana, didn’t go unnoticed. As such, he’s been rumoured to be moving abroad in the past few months. Those reports linking him to north Africa, the Middle East and Europe have since been nullified, though, as he’s extended his stint with the local champions by four years.

That contract extension also raised questions as to whether Mokoena has relinquished any aspirations of moving abroad, considering that he’ll be 31 years old in four years.

Speaking ahead of his team’s MTN8 semi-final first-leg clash at home to Stellenbosch on Wednesday night (7pm), he said: “The dream is still alive; we still have the (Fifa) Club World Cup (to participate in). So, yeah, we’ll see what happens next year,”

Sure, the extended Club World Cup next year in the US could be a defining moment for Mokoena’s career, but before then, there are a few boxes he needs to tick at Sundowns.

The Brazilians recently sacked coach Rulani Mokwena before promoting Manqoba Mngqithi to the helm.

However, that doesn’t change the fact that they are expected to dominate on all fronts locally – winning the Betway Premiership, MTN8, Carling Cup and Nedbank Cup.

It is, moreover, on the continent where they are expected to show their prowess by winning the CAF Champions and defending the African Football League (AFL).

Mokoena is a key figure to those ambitions, given his domestic and continental exploits, which included helping Bafana to finish third in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in January.

“I am happy to be at the club. I signed the contract because I know the project and I want to be part of it,” said Mokoena. “It was an easy decision for me to stay here because we still have the Club World Cup, we still have CAF and AFL to play for and I still have Bafana Bafana on the side.”

Standing between Sundowns and their first trophy of the season, the MTN8, is Stellies who’ll visit them in Atteridgeville in the semi-final first leg on Wednesday night. This clash is set to test Sundowns’ character as the start of the new era under Mngqithi and Co was criticised by some experts and supporters.

The naysayers believe that the team was out of sorts during their 1-0 win over Polokwane City in the quarter-final, citing the changes that have happened since Mokwena left. But Mngqithi understands that it will take some time to win over the trust of their supporters, hence they need to be at their best with every game.

“To be honest with you, I think it’s going to be an interesting match because our supporters are also eager to see (how we’ll fare),” Mngqithi said.

“They also want to believe and have faith. So, it’s also important to understand that sometimes, and with a lot of changes, people want to see first – so they can believe and have faith.

“Once they have faith, you know that at least you are trusted, and that’s what we are driving towards as a club.”

But while the 53-year-old coach is keen on winning over the faith of their fans, he would have preferred to play Wednesday night’s game away from home.

“It will be nice to play this match in front of our home supporters but honestly speaking, I always prefer to play games like these away first,” Mngqithi explained.

“Playing at home is a little bit tricky because of the away goal rule. But I think the team has matured in that space, and we understand what is expected of us.”