Aaron Mokoena

Teboho Aaron Mokoena /ˌmɒkoʊˈɛnə/ (born 25 November 1980) is a South African former footballer. He is currently the assistant coach of Cape Town City.

Mokoena's professional career as a player spanned 14 seasons among football clubs in the Netherlands, Belgium, England and South Africa.

Mokoena was born in Boipatong. He moved to Bayer Leverkusen and Ajax, before twice being loaned out to Germinal Beerschot and then transferring to KRC Genk for two years. On 4 January 2005, aged 24 he moved to Premier League side Blackburn Rovers in which he described his move as a dream.

Mokoena made his debut for Blackburn on 8 January 2005 in an FA Cup match against Cardiff City, coming on as a 43rd-minute substitute for Barry Ferguson. After this, Mark Hughes mainly utilised Mokoena as a holding midfielder. Mokoena went on to be a regular in the starting line-up for the remainder of the season, appearing 22 times in total. He was used by Hughes as the holding midfielder in a three-man midfield in a defensive 4–5–1 formation, a move which saw Blackburn concede fewer goals and move away from relegation danger.

Hughes later reverted to a 4–4–2 formation. From then on, Mokoena found himself used sparingly as a holding midfielder in his favoured 4–5–1 formation as a second-half substitute, charged with protecting leads in games in which Blackburn were winning. With Robbie Savage out injured for Rovers, Mokoena started most of the team's games in 2007 and he scored his first goal for Blackburn in an FA Cup 6th round victory against Manchester City on 11 March 2007. However, he was later sent off after getting a second yellow card. He scored his second and final Blackburn goal against Sunderland in February 2009, again this time in the FA Cup replay in Rovers' 2–1 win at Ewood Park which was also voted as goal of the season for the 2008–09 season. Mokoena played his final game for Blackburn Rovers on 24 May 2009 against West Bromwich Albion at Ewood Park in the 0–0 draw.

On 24 May 2009, Mokoena announced he would be joining fellow Premier League outfit Portsmouth on a three-year deal. He scored his first goal for Portsmouth in the last minute of extra time to give them victory over Coventry City at the Ricoh Arena in the dying seconds in the FA Cup third round replay on 12 January 2010. Mokoena played a major part in the games against Coventry, Sunderland, South Coast rivals Southampton, Birmingham and Tottenham. He stated that he desired the move to secure regular football, especially in the run up to the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa his native.

Mokoena scored his first league goal in English football (having previously scored three in the FA Cup) when he netted on 58 minutes and completed the full 90 minutes in a 3–1 victory over Bristol City at Fratton Park on 28 September 2010.

On 28 October 2010, Mokoena signed a new two-and-a-half-year deal with Pompey lasting until summer 2013. He made 70 appearances and has scored three goals for Portsmouth in all competitions. On 18 June 2011, he said that he could be leaving Portsmouth because he has been very frustrated at being on the bench on a regular basis.