‘No more Mr Nice Guy’, says gatvol Sundowns coach Mokwena

For a while now, a couple of coaches in the DStv Premiership have been taking aim at Mamelodi Sundowns’ success, saying it is all down to the riches of club owner, billionaire Patrice Motsepe.

Motsepe has since relinquished all his Masandawana duties and appointed his son, Tlhopie, as the club’s chairman in order for the former to head the Confederation of African Football.

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Rulani Mokwena, who has done a stellar job as head coach of Masandawana since his appointment in October last year, says perhaps it is time for him to change his tone and wind down his humbleness.

Mokwena says it does not bother him when his counterparts say Downs are successful because they are backed by Motsepe’s wealth. But what irks Mokwena is how comfortable his fellow coaches are at discrediting the work done at Chloorkop.

— Potential weakness —

“It does not frustrate me because it is the truth. If it was a lie then it would frustrate me. Maybe I am still wet behind the ears but my granny would say don’t be too humble sometimes because people will take it as a sign of weakness and cowardice,” said Mokwena.

“Maybe my weakness is that I praise my players instead of praising myself and I will do that for as long as I am a football coach because I know that the game belongs to the players.

“I don’t play and maybe the mistake is that I am too humble and that is what gives them the confidence to speak the way that they speak. But it is okay because at the end of the day what speaks [are the results on the pitch],” he added.

— Money and success —

The Bafana Ba Style coach went on to reference a conversation between Juventus’ Leonardo Bonnuci and Gianluigi Buffon, speaking in the Italian giants docu-series, All or Nothing.

This was to further illuminate that money doesn’t buy success, as suggested by Chippa United head coach Morgan Mammila, who said even if you promise players a bonus of R50 000 each game, they will not win all the games.

“In Juventus’ All or Nothing series. Bonucci is sitting with Gianluigi Buffon and they speak about modern football. At the end, Leonardo Bonucci says the facts are on the pitch. Nine times out of 10, the coaches who praise themselves as top coaches and bring the spotlight on themselves are not what they say they are,” Mokwena said.

— ‘Not be the best coach’ —

The former Orlando Pirates coach went on to accept that he may not be the best coach in the league — after all, he still has to prove himself a sole coach as all the official titles on his CV were won as co-head coach or assistant.

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However, the writing is on the wall that the league crown is most likely to remain at Chloorkop and will be Mokwena’s maiden title as sole head coach.

“I may not be the best coach in this league, in their opinion, but this one I can challenge all of them – I am definitely the hardest working coach. I have no social life, I am extremely obsessed with football and with the Sundowns team,” says Mokwena.

“I am obsessed with trying to improve the team. I belong to a WhatsApp group where there are coaches who are coaching at the highest level and I am learning. For as long as I have that mentality, the opinions of people will never make a difference to the way I look at myself, the team and my work,” concluded Mokwena.