Former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has admitted that managing the different personalities in Masandawana’s squad was an area where he felt challenged the most.
Mokwena, 37, was what many would call a “player’s coach or manager”, who had a very good relationship to many of his stars.
At Chloorkop, he’s had to deal with a big squad, filled with players from academy to experienced seniors and internationals.
The now Wydad coach admitted it was a challenge for him to handle the many personalities, but he always tries to build human connections that go beyond the pitch.
“It is probably the area where I was challenged the most at Sundowns but is one of the most important roles of a coach in modern football,” he told Forbes Africa.
“I knew the players’ families, the grandmother, the mother, their wives, their children. It is part of my coaching arsenal that I have worked on, building human relationships.
“You manage players as human beings, because they are the ones responsible for the team performance and helping you as the coach achieve the results and the objectives that you set out.”
Mokwena started his reign at Wydad with a win, a draw and a defeat from his first three games but returns to action on the weekend, when his side will take on Difaa Hassani El-Jadidi.
