How the signing of Lorch created a rift between Rulani Mokwena and Flemming Berg at Sundowns

The widely publicised signing of Thembinkosi Lorch from Orlando Pirates is one of the issues that broke the relationship between Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena and technical director Flemming Berg. 

TimesLive has reliably established Berg was strongly against Lorch coming to Chloorkop, but Mokwena got his way when the controversial former Bafana Bafana midfielder joined from Orlando Pirates. 

“The two men did not agree on the transfer of Thembinkosi Lorch and that created a lot of problems that at some stage threatened to affect the players. There were other disagreements between them but this was one of the bigger issues,” said a source who did not want to be identified.

Lorch’s 20 matches in all competitions at Sundowns, which yielded six goals and three assists, received mixed reviews at the end of the season, and it remains to be seen if he will get more game time next season in the absence of Mokwena. 

Off the field, Lorch also grabbed the headlines when he appeared in an Instagram Live video dancing with two unidentified women, and that stunt did not go down well with disciplinarian Mokwena. 

“I am in the space where when I am open and honest with them is when I close the door of my office and have a face-to-face conversation with them. You are not going to hear anything about Lorch from me,” Mokwena said after the Lorch video in May. 

The other issue that deepened the rift between Mokwena and Berg was the club’s failure to pull out all the stops to sign Tshegofatso Mabasa or Khanyisa Mayo in January to boost their chances of winning the Champions League. 

With Mokwena and the club finalising the details of his departure, Manqoba Mngqithi and Wendell Robinson will take charge of their pre-season, as s announced by chair Thlopie Motsepe when he addressed the players on Tuesday morning. 

Mngqithi and Robinson did not waste time as they took the players, who were without Bafana Bafana stars who were in the squad for last month's 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Nigeria and Zimbabwe, through their paces at Chloorkop on Tuesday. 

This will be followed by a trip to Austria in the coming weeks as the Brazilians intensify their preparations for next season, where they will be involved in about seven tournaments. 

Domestically, Sundowns will do battle in the DStv Premiership, MTN8, Carling Black Label Cup and Nedbank Cup and continentally they will have to defend the Africa Football League (AFL) and try to win the Champions League again. 

There is also the serious matter of the increased Fifa Club World Cup next year to be hosted by the US. 

Mngqithi and Robinson, who have a long history with the club, will be supported by Kennedy Mweene, who will be working with goalkeepers, and Mathias Zangenberg, who is the head of physical performance.