South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns are now turning to a foreign coach after head coach Manqoba Mngqithi was dismissed on Tuesday.
The past two weeks of results for Sundowns under Mngqithi, as dominant as the club have been over the past eight years, were not unprecedented. There were patches of results like this, although rare, under Mngqithi's beloved predecessor Rhulani Mokwena before he departed for Morocco's Wydad AC.
However, for the now departed Mngqithi and the supporters of the club, it does not feel like the change in leadership announced on Tuesday is too much of a surprise. The MTN 8 semifinal exit against Stellenbosch at the beginning of September created a rumble but the shock defeat two weeks ago to little-known Magesi FC in the Carling Knockout Cup final got the ball rolling and Mngqithi did not help his cause after by utilizing a highly rotated squad in Sundowns' poor 0-0 CAF Champions League draw at home against DR Congo's Maniema Union.
Video: Magesi FC 2-1 Mamelodi Sundowns highlights from the Carling Knockout Cup final
A victory against Sekhukhune United in South Africa's Betway Premiership calmed things down but the results in the Champions League, most recently a draw at Morocco's AS FAR on Saturday, are cited as the reason for Mngqithi's dismissal.
But anybody who has closely followed the club knew the moment of truth that reflected how Sundowns management truly felt about Mngqithi as head coach came in October 2022 when he was a co-coach publicly on equal standing with Mokwena. After a stunning 3-0 second leg defeat and 0-4 aggregate humbling at the hands of Orlando Pirates in the MTN 8 eliminated Sundowns at the semifinal stage, Mngqithi was demoted to the role of assistant to make way for Mokwena's ascension as the sole head coach.
Video: Orlando Pirates defeats Mamelodi Sundowns 4-0 on aggregate in the 2022 MTN 8
Despite media and public speculation about how public this demotion was, Mngqithi handled it with class and exceptional loyalty to the club where he spent the last ten years of his coaching career. But after the Sundowns winning machine returned to business as usual that was when Mokwena began to be referred to as "South Africa's Pep Guardiola" and a successor to legendary South African gaffer Pitso Mosimane while loyal soldier Mngqithi was relegated to the background.
When Mokwena and Sundowns agreed to part ways, the path was cleared for Mngqithi to return in July for the second chance he had been waiting for. But any slip up in form was going to be viewed with a magnifying glass by Sundowns supporters and ownership and that moment came too soon for Mngqithi in his tenure. While the Stellenbosch defeat was concerning, the Carling Knockout Cup defeat to Magesi FC that denied Sundowns another trophy was the beginning of the end that arrived even after a decent result in Morocco where Mngqithi appeared satisfied with the performance.
Video: Manqoba Mngqithi interview after his final match with Sundowns, a 1-1 draw at Morocco's AS FAR
The reality is that Mngqithi's restrained personality and loyal nature kept him on at Sundowns but we know that loyalty is never returned from the club when the results suffer. Sundowns never reached the level this season that was seen under Mokwena the last two years and even the victories this season were not convincing, which set the stage for Tuesday's news where Mngqithi was let go without an extended opportunity for Sundowns to right the ship under him.
Loyalty may have given Mngqithi further longevity and a second chance at Sundowns but he was never going to be given the long leash that Mokwena and newly hired foreign coach Miguel Cardoso may enjoy because Sundowns management showed what they truly thought of his abilities after that MTN 8 exit in 2022.
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