JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – SEPTEMBER 20: Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena during the DStv Premiership match between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns at Orlando Stadium on September 20, 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena has revealed that his deep knowledge of amateur football has helped him profile opposition players like Patrick Maswanganyi and Zakhele Lepasa much better.
Maswanganyi and Lepasa were Orlando Pirates’ most in-form players ahead of their clash against the Brazilians on Wednesday but they could not have the influence they normally have after a very good defensive display by Sundowns, who won 1-0.
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Mokwena says it helps that he knows these players from their amateur days and knows what they are good at.
“The greatest benefit of coaching Black Poison is that I get to be right at the heart of where football is. So I’ve seen Maswanganyi play freely and I know what he can do,” Mokwena said in a press conference.
“I’ve seen Zakhele Lepasa in a cup final, Black Poison vs Snegege Chillas and scoring the goal against Black Poison, so a lot of people say, ‘Ah, this one is obsessed with football, this one has got no social life blah, blah, blah’ but really the truth is it helps me to have so much information about who are the players coming, what they are strong at…
“And that background information helps a little bit. We don’t plan around any single individual but it’s just that we do a lot of work behind the scenes and prepare,” he added.
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Mokwena also revealed that he and his technical team watched the previous seven games of Pirates, indicating how much work they do to analyse opposition.
Meanwhile, the Brazilians’ striker Lucas Ribeiro Costa became the out-right leading goal-scorer in the league with five goals after his well-taken penalty against the Buccaneers.
Masandawana will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when they host Kaizer Chiefs in the MTN8 semi-final second-leg. The first leg was drawn 1-1 at FNB Stadium.
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