Mokwena unfazed by Wydad’s new coach

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena is well aware of what Wydad Casablanca new coach Sven Vandenbroeck will bring when the two sides meet in the CAF Champions League semifinal first leg at Stade Mohammed V on Saturday (9pm).

The African champions parted ways with Juan Carlos Garrido last week and appointed Vandenbroeck just before their crucial semifinal match against Masandawana.

Having taken charge of Wydad’s 3-1 win over Chabab Mohammedia last weekend, Mokwena says the Moroccans must now have a clearer picture of what the new coach is trying to do.

Vandenbroeck was assistant coach to Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos when Cameroon won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017 before he was appointed the coach of the Zambian national team, but was sacked after failing to qualify them for the 2019 Afcon.

He was also the coach for Simba in Tanzania, AS Far in Morocco and Abha Club in Saudi Arabia before joining Wydad.

“The preparation, this time of the season, we are fortunate, we have training sessions for sure, but when we’re in camp, we do a lot of video analysis on us and what we want to do but also on the opposition,” Mokwena told the club media department.

“On the new coach, there’s not much in terms of the profile of the team that’s changed. Before the coach, there were very good players, very aggressive wing-play, and very aggressive possibilities to threaten on the counterattack.

“Small adaptations within the model of play with the new coach, from a defensive perspective, on the pressing looks a bit higher, more emphasis on build-up with [Houcine] Benayada especially, bigger influence.

“But look, it’s a lot of hard work and we have to just continue to do the work, profile, but we have done work on profiling him prior to him being appointed in his various clubs in Saudi Arabia, Tanzania. There’s a lot of detail that has to go in, but it’s the work we always do with a lot of support from the analysis and the rest of the coaches.”

Having arrived in Casablanca on Monday, Mokwena is pleased with the work they have done as they look to take advantage in the first leg.

“Upon arrival, the first training session is always about the activation type of session where we work on activating not just physiological aspects, the body needs to establish its biomechanics,” he said.

“That’s what we focused on at training and then we start the work in preparing for the tactics match day minus three, match day minus two and match day minus one and we move.”