Wydad Athletic coach Rulani Mokwena is courting his former player Bongani Zungu to join the Moroccan giants in Casablanca.
The lanky ball-juggler is a free agent, and Mokwena says Wydad has a chance to sign the former Mamelodi Sundowns and AmaTuks midfielder.
Sundowns cut ties with Zungu at the end of the previous campaign.
In an address to the South African Football Journalists Association, Mokwena hinted at Zungu’s predicament.
“Will we see South African players [at Wydad]? I don’t know of the players you’ve mentioned if I can speak about Bongani Zungu because he’s not attached at the moment,” Mokwena said.
Zungu is an incredible human being
“There is a huge possibility. I’m a big Bongani Zungu fan, and I think everybody knows. I love Bongani Zungu as a person.
“This is what’s making him a top footballer. He’s an incredible human being, so we just have to see because it’s a bit more complicated than people think.
“It is a big possibility, and I think it’s something that we are considering.”
Along with changing the club’s culture, Mokwena claims he also wants to give the Moroccan powerhouses a new identity.
Changing the club’s fortunes is a massive task for him.
With Wydad’s decline in performance and lack of threat on the continent, the winner of PSL Coach of the Season has been awarded a three-year contract in an attempt to revive the team’s former glory.
Giving Wydad a new identity
“We want to do it in a different way because the club has a different personality,” said Mokwena.
“To try and change that will take some time, but we are committed to that, and we want to do the best we can.
“We want to give the club a new identity, and this is what the board has asked of me: to play in a different way, and of course that way has to be the best to get the results and the success.
“But it is still a project that we have to invest a lot of time into, and trying to change the culture and the mentality of the players is probably my greatest challenge.
“The club has been successful in the past, playing in a different way.
“Big clubs all over the world have some sort of stamp. They have a personality, and that is the first part of a five-point plan to create a personality so that fans can put a face to the performances.
“It involves a lot of work off the pitch, in relation to our recruitment and certain aspects of the team. And slowly but surely, we will give a face to a beautiful club.”
