Sundowns’ Komphela sings Mokwena’s praises

Mamelodi Sundowns senior coach Steve Komphela has described his boss Rhulani Mokwena as a “genius” and says the young mentor has turned into a “monster tactician” since their days together at Platinum Stars.     

Mokwena, 36, has been a marvel since he was made sole head coach of Sundowns from October after a stint as co-coach with Manqoba Mngqithi, when Komphela was technical adviser.  

Since then the Soweto-born coach has enjoyed huge success as sole head coach in the Premiership, Nedbank Cup and Caf Champions League, and has yet to lose a match.

“The guy is unbelievably intelligent. He is brains, brains, brains,” Komphela said. “You never get into coaching and succeed at a young age without brains. He is a genius.”  

Sundowns were embroiled in scandal with reports of two prominent players, Sipho Mbule and Andile Jali, allegedly arriving drunk at training.  Mokwena has been credited for the manner in which he handled the situation and responded to questions in the media.  

“Unfortunately, modern management is not only about the capability to do your job. To be a great technician is about managing the rest of the dynamics around you,” Komphela said.  

“A friend, Roger de Sa, once said  ‘90% of what the coach earns is about everything that happens around [the team] and only 10% is about what they do on the pitch’, and I think coach Rhulani has mastered that.  

“He is very calm and calculating and he sees things in time and has the wisdom and ability to respond appropriately.  

“It’s not easy to be a head coach at Sundowns, in fact, at any big team. But managing that is one of the primary objectives. You have to be very careful because whatever you say goes.  

“Unfortunately, in the modern world what you say goes on and if you want to rectify it, it gets even worse. You have to be careful of what you say.”  

Komphela worked with Mokwena when the Downs head coach was starting out with the youth teams of Platinum Stars. “That’s way back. He has developed into a monster [since]. It is beautiful to see genius striving.

“Even when we worked together at Platinum Stars with Allan Freese, it was clear [Mokwena would be a top coach]. The hard work, the passion has gone to another level. It’s amazing.” 

Sundowns have a 17-point lead atop the Premier Soccer League table ahead of SuperSport United and were looking to stretch that even further with a win over Royal AM at Loftus Stadium on Tuesday night.