Pep Guardiola singled out a Wydad Athletic Club player that Rulani Mokwena insisted on signing, following Manchester City’s 2-0 win over the Moroccan side.
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Earlier this week, the Red Castle played their first match in the new iteration of the FIFA Club World Cup when they came up against English giants City.
Leading up to the competition, Mokwena was widely tipped to lead the record Moroccan champions on this expedition to the United States of America to play against the planet’s best football clubs, and he assembled his squad accordingly.
During the mid-season transfer window of the 2024/25 campaign, in a bid to qualify for the CAF Champions League and build a squad strong enough to compete at the 32-team competition in North America, Mokwena signed several players — including Thembinkosi Lorch, who he acquired on loan from his former club Mamelodi Sundowns.
Ultimately, results did not go according to plan for the South African tactician in the Botola Pro Inwi, and he was placed on special leave until the end of the season, eventually being replaced by Mohamed Amine Benhachem.
While Lorch produced a brilliant outing against the Mancunians, it was another of Mokwena’s signings that caught Guardiola’s eye.
During the same window in which the Bafana Bafana winger was brought in, Moroccan shot-stopper El Mehdi Benabid also joined the club. The 27-year-old had lost his number one spot at AS FAR Rabat during the first half of the campaign, and it is alleged that Mokwena strongly advocated for his acquisition.
After the match, the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss praised Benabid’s versatility.
"The Wydad goalkeeper is outstanding, he contributed to creating a defensive superiority for the red club at our expense because of his mastery of playing with feet,” the two-time treble winner said, as per Le Site Info Sport.
"The Wydad goalkeeper removed a group of balls with his feet, and this gave Wydad a numerical superiority in defence."
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"The Wydad goalkeeper also distinguished himself in his long balls that he sends in the last third of the field."
