Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena has spoken about who is the club’s captain after Hlompho Kekana has not featured for the club in 2021/22.
Over the years, Masandawana were led by Kekana who claimed numerous trophies and titles as a captain of the team.
However, the 36-year-old midfielder has found himself out of favour under the coaching trio at Masandawana this season, with Sundowns handing the armband to the likes of Mosa Lebusa, Kennedy Mweene and Dennis Onyango.
Mokwena was now asked who is captain of the defending DStv Premiership champions, but didn’t want to reveal one name, insisting all 36 players in the squad must be leaders.
“We have got unbelievable leaders in the changing room. I mean, from Kennedy Mweene to Dennis Onyango to Mosa Lebusa, we don’t rely only on who is has armband,” Mokwena told reporters.
“We have got many senior players that assume a lot of responsibility in the changing room. And because of that, it becomes very easy for us, it becomes just a formality.
“The FIFA rules say somebody must wear the armband but the reality is, any one of our 36 players can be a leader and can be a captain.
“We believe in that sort of leadership style where we want accountability, we want responsibility. But we also want what we call ‘shared leadership’.
“And once you have shared leadership, you then move into having a team that in your defensive line, you’ve got leaders in your midfield line, you’ve got leaders, AJ and Riva could easily be wearing the armband.
“So we are in that space and fortunate that we’ve got so many personalities, strong personalities that can lead the team. And that’s the way we love the team to have this.
“They control the change room and they help us and really, to be honest, it’s not just about wearing the armband, or even in good moments, you show leadership is very easy to lead when things are okay and smooth and rosy.
“But what we look for in our players is the ability to stand up and to be present in the changing room on the pitch when things do not go so well. And that’s what we have, we have so many of these personalities.
“And we are extremely fortunate that we have that, which then puts us in a position where we don’t really rely on the armband to show who our leaders are.
“So yeah, we are in that space where we’ve got so many, and we are fortunate to be in that space.”
