Sundowns head coach Rhulani Mokwena during the game Stellenbosch FC against Mamelodi Sundowns in their DSTV Premiership at Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena (pictured) has mastered the art of gamesmanship, but so too has Moroka Swallows boss Steve Komphela which means the MTN8 clash on Saturday has the makings of a classic encounter. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane African News Agency (ANA)
Rhulani Mokwena has mastered the art of gamesmanship. To listen to him speaking about the opposition is to hear a seasoned professional lulling his opponents into a false sense of security.
Of course, few coaches in the Premiership invest in studying the opposition like he does.
He has learnt from the best in the business after all, the revered Pitso Mosimane, who mentored him.
But while he is almost always spot-on in his description of his opponents and how they tend to play, the compliments he throws somewhat willy-nilly should not always be taken to heart.
A naive opposition would be severely punished should they take Mokwena’s compliments too seriously.
Steve Komphela is unlikely to be one of those, the Moroka Swallows FC coach having worked with Mokwena for years at Mamelodi Sundowns.
The duo clash for the first time in the quarter-finals of the MTN8 at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday, and Mokwena was lavish in his praise for a Swallows outfit that has only played two matches under Komphela – none of which delivered victory.
“It’s going to be a difficult game,” Mokwena said.
“They are a strong team with good players, and we have to make sure we are well prepared for what will be a difficult encounter.
“I watched them against Arrows, an interesting game, (they had) flexible organisational forms. Also (against) Cape Town City, they made changes, but they were very aggressive with their fullbacks and some interesting pictures that we saw.
“It’s going to be difficult to break them down and to get the result.”
For someone whose team have been dismantling the local opposition as consummately as they have been since he became the main man in the middle of last season, Mokwena gives his opponents way too much credit.
He talked up Kaizer Chiefs ahead of their Premiership clash on Wednesday, only for the Brazilians to play Amakhosi off the pitch, their failure to convert their chances their only downfall as they should have beaten Molefi Ntseki’s team by way more than the 2-1 score.
Mokwena acknowledged that Sundowns could be a bit of an open book to Swallows, given Komphela’s understanding of the club and how he (Mokwena) functions.
“He knows us very well,” Mokwena said, before quickly adding a disclaimer that should send a warning to the rest of the league that studying the Brazilians is not going to be of much help.
“But football is played on the pitch. The game belongs to the players. At the end of the day, we have to do the best we can and impose ourselves, get the pictures out, and hopefully we do that well and get the win at the end of the game.”
Komphela, on the other hand, gave the impression that he has his opponents figured out. He too, basing his knowledge on what he has seen from Sundowns’ opening two matches.
“Sundowns have evolved. There are certain principles they still subscribe to, but they have complicated them a bit,” Komphela said.
“In the match against Sekhukhune, when Riva (Rivaldo Coetzee) got a red card, you could see where Riva was going, and where (Khuliso) Mudau goes when Riva was going to the middle.
“And when Riva was not there (against Chiefs), you saw the dynamic change – look where (Abdelmounaim) Boutouil goes, he goes the same place where (Aubrey) Modiba was going.”
Komphela lectured, having typically laced his address with a multitude of analogies that would have left many a head spinning.
As if aware of the confusion he had sown, he simplified things.
“You need to look at all these pictures, but don’t be blurred by the movement of certain individuals and players. Look at the frame and the principle. Such models exist universally, and you just need to be aware of them,” Komphela said.
He probably should have added “and be able to render them ineffective so that you can stop the Sundowns juggernaut”.
If the two teams play just as well and confusing as their coaches speak, Saturday’s clash at the Lucas Moripe Stadium is going to be one fascinating encounter.
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