Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mowkena says he has moved on and forgiven the fan who attacked him when he was on the technical staff of Orlando Pirates.
Mokwena was speaking ahead of the Nedbank Cup final against Pirates, and addressed the fixture itself which has become quite heated and aggressive in years gone by.
While the Sundowns coach, who just led the club to a record points total in the DStv Premiership triumph (73 points) admitted the memory is vague, and that he’s forgiven the perpetrator who invaded the Loftus Versfeld pitch to attack him in the technical area.
The match ended in a 0-0 draw where Sundowns went on to win the league title ahead of Pirates under then-head coach Pitso Mosimane by two points.
“It’s so far back I can’t remember,” Mokwena said about the intense fixture where he was attacked by a Sundowns fan.
“The only thing I remember is being attacked by a Sundowns supporter, that I will never forget, but I’ve moved on from that, it’s something that the gentleman that committed that attack must know, I’ve forgiven him.
“And that was one thing I was raised and taught that sometimes you forgive people even for the apologies they’ve never expressed, so that’s just where I am, I don’t even have… the memories are very vague, to be honest with you.”
Mokwena said the quality of his squad and what Pirates bring to the fixture, is what always created the spectacle, but suggested they will need to bring their best and have a ‘very good’ officiating team for the team to reach the heights expected in Mbombela on Saturday.
“It’s the magnitude of the clubs, it’s two big clubs, for sure, and I think the profile of the players when you have 11 good players on one side and 11 very good players on the other side, you are bound to have a good match,” he explained about the intensity of the fixture.
“For a good football match, you need three teams, three good teams. I know we will have one very good team that is well prepared. I am 100 percent sure that we will be ready, I hope the other two teams is just as ready to give the right curtain raiser for what has been a very good season.”
The two sides meet for the Nedbank Cup final at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday afternoon (15h00).
