Al Ittihad have been interested in me since my days at Wydad – Rulani Mokwena

South African tactician Rulani Mokwena has opened up on his decision to part ways with MC Alger and take up a new challenge with Libyan giants Al-Ittihad.

The 39-year-old’s departure from MC Alger after just eight months raised eyebrows, particularly given his impressive record in Algeria.

Mokwena oversaw 34 matches, securing 20 victories, eight draws and only six defeats.

His tenure also delivered silverware in the Algerian Super Cup, while leaving the club firmly at the summit of the domestic league.

He was officially unveiled as Al-Ittihad’s new head coach on Tuesday evening, with the immediate objective of ending the club’s league title drought stretching back to the 2021/22 season.

Speaking in an interview with 947, Mokwena explained that the move was driven by both the scale of the project and the opportunity to restore a fallen powerhouse.

According to him, Al-Ittihad have endured a challenging period in recent seasons, with rivals Al Ahli Tripoli establishing dominance domestically.

“Well, the club has been in a difficult situation for the last two or three seasons, with Al Ahli Tripoli being the club that’s been more dominant,” he said.

“They did not have a strong campaign in the Confederation Cup, losing to Al Masry in the qualifiers, but have always, in the past, historically been the biggest and most successful club from a title perspective,” the 39-year-old added.

“It is a club that holds a lot of strong connections with its people, and that’s what we are trying to revive. You’ve seen the type of players they’ve recruited already, and that demonstrates the ambition of the club,” the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach added.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach further revealed that talks with Al-Ittihad had been ongoing for some time, dating back to his stint with Wydad AC.

“Discussions with Al Ittihad and the owners actually started while I was still in Wydad, when the new ownership took over the club. Unfortunately, at that point, it was not possible, but their interest persisted, and we believe that this is the right time now to try to move to the next level of the project and try to make something bigger and better.

“When people show this type of persistent interest at such a big club, it’s very difficult to continue to resist,” he concluded.