Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena expressed mutual admiration for legendary Daine Klate who stated the Masandawana boss inspires him within his lofty ambitions in his coaching journey.
Mokwena who turned 37 last month won the DStv Premiership and African Football League (AFL) in his first year as a sole head coach of a senior professional side.
Widely considered one of the most promising tacticians in African football at present and received global attention from football purists, Mokwena looks destined for an iconic career in South African football and potentially beyond based on his current exploits.
His playing style has earned widespread plaudits and while he stated his biggest disadvantage in coaching was that he was never a professional footballer, one of the most decorated footballers in PSL history heaped praise on him as a major source of inspiration.
“I look at the team when I watch La Masia play I can already see the stamp of a coach, and they do quite a lot of very good things, whether it’s Virgil Vries in goals or [Allesandro] Du Plessis with the left foot, it’s the same type of schemes in the build-up,” Mokwena said when asked by iDiski Times about Klate’s sentiments.
“And then inverted full-backs, whether I can say I enjoy being [praised]… to be honest I don’t know whether I am worthy of that you know, I don’t think I can at this point of my career enjoy that type of responsibility, I think I’ve still got so much more to learn.
“I think I’ve got so much more to go through still in my journey and I can only receive the words from Daine, who was one of the players I used to watch and admire quite a lot with his qualities.”
Mokwena first arrived on the professional football scene a decade ago when he was roped into the technical team at Sundowns under then-head coach Pitso Mosiamane as one of his assistant coaches.
“I can only receive [his admiration] with a lot of humility and hopefully the work that we do and the support I get from the rest of the people who also support me and encourage me can also filter down to many young coaches. I receive it with humility and gratitude,” Mokwena concluded at the pre-match press conference in Parktown on Monday.
Sundowns will be aiming to overcome the Westbury-based side on Tuesday evening as they do battle at Dobsonville Stadium at 19h00.
