Rhulani Mokwena

In this file photo, Rhulani Mokwena, who has taken over the reins at Chippa United, is seen in action as Orlando Pirates head coach in their Absa Premiership 2019/2020 game against Stellenbosch FC at Cape Town Stadium on 26 October 2019. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

Mokwena going ‘on loan’ to Chippa from Pirates is a smart move

Orlando Pirates have allowed Rhulani Mokwena to take up a head coach position with Chippa while he is still contracted to the Sea Robbers in what could be a masterstroke.

Rhulani Mokwena

In this file photo, Rhulani Mokwena, who has taken over the reins at Chippa United, is seen in action as Orlando Pirates head coach in their Absa Premiership 2019/2020 game against Stellenbosch FC at Cape Town Stadium on 26 October 2019. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

This week, it was announced that Rhulani Mokwena had left Orlando Pirates to join Chippa United on a short-term contract as head coach, with this effectively being a rare loan deal for a coach.

In the statement put out to the media by Pirates, the wording indicates that Mokwena is still on the payroll of Bucs and is simply joining Chippa United due to the long-standing relationship between Chilli Boys chairman, Chippa Mpengensi and Pirates boss, Irvin Khoza.

Mokwena on the move after Pirates agree release

“Orlando Pirates Football Club can confirm that Assistant Coach Rulani Mokwena has been seconded to join Absa Premiership outfit Chippa United. Mokwena, who recently returned from an overseas trip which saw him visiting some European football clubs for a benchmarking exercise, joins the Chilli Boys until the end of the season. He will be joined at United by Michael Loftman.”

Many players have moved between the clubs in recent seasons with an unofficial “feeder club” agreement in place as the PSL allows large numbers of players to move on loan between clubs in the same division. That is not the case in, for example, the English Premier League where only one player can be on loan from one club to another, and only two loan players are allowed overall.

However, this is the first time that a coach has moved between the clubs and it is very rare in football for that to happen. One recent example saw Chelsea send their under 18’s assistant coach, Andy Myers to be an assistant first team coach at Vitesse in the Netherlands. He gained experience for a year, then returned to be the head of the under 18 side.

Few other obvious examples come to mind although something vaguely similar saw Spanish coach Domenec Torrent move from being Manchester City’s assistant coach to head coach of New York City FC, who are owned by the same holding company. However, after he struggled in his new role and was fired, he did not return to City.

Win-win-win situation

The loan deal for Mokwena suits all parties. Pirates allow their coach to get head coach experience and therefore continue his development after finding himself sidelined since the appointment of Josef Zinnbauer, with Fadlu Davids taking on more responsibility. No one could blame Mokwena for not wanting to be demoted and holding head coach ambitions, but Pirates don’t want to lose him and then perhaps see him end up at a rival club.

This deal also sees Mokwena’s close ally, Englishman, Michael Loftman move to Chippa United. He gets to gain experience too having been the Multichoice Diski Challenge coach at Bucs for a while and holding a position in the Performance Analysis Department. Holding a UEFA A coaching licence, he too gets to fulfil some ambitions with this move.

Pirates will therefore have two staff members improving themselves whilst strengthening their ties to Chippa United – which would be frowned upon or even outlawed in practically every other country.

This deal holds minimal risk and high possible reward for all parties as Mokwena is still likely to have a contract to go back to at Pirates should Mpengesi no longer require his services after a few poor results. If he succeeds, he can gain experience and refine his methodology before returning to lead Bucs in a couple of years.