Rulani Mokwena rubishes accusations he spied on Mamelodi Sundowns ahead of do-or-die Caf Champions League chash

RULANI MOKWENA returned to the venue where he achieved South African and continental football glory and tackled accusations head on that have threatened to tarnish his standing as one of the continent’s brightest coaches.

Accused of having deviously gained insight into the workings of his former club Mamelodi Sundowns whom he faces in a do-or-die final group match of the Total Energies CAF Champions League with his Algerian side MC Alger, the young coach essentially described them as character assassination.

Building up to the Loftus Versfeld clash, a story emerged that Mokwena had been receiving information about Sundowns via WhatsApp conversations with the Brazilians’ technical analyst Mario Masha who has since been suspended by the club.

Mokwena, reading from a prepared statement, took serious offence at being accused of cutting corners to attain success.

“Many things can be said about me personally as a human being, as a coach, but never that I do not invest in my career; never that I do not take my job very seriously; never that I don't work very, very hard and never that I do not care about details," said Mokwena.

"Those who know me understand how obsessive I am about preparation. I've sat in many press conferences amongst you, in front of you, where you have also accused me of over-sharing technical information. And that has never changed.”

While he essentially admitted to having been in contact with the suspended Sundowns analyst, Mokwena refuted that Masha had provided him with information that could help his team beat Sundowns tomorrow as has been suggested throughout this week.

“Reputation is built over years of conduct and not through anonymous screenshots,” he charged “And let me state this very, very clearly. Mario has not given me any, any tactical or confidential information about Sundowns.

"The conversations referenced were professional football discussions. Some personal, relating to his UEFA licences, which he asked me to help him share through different methodologies, previous work done together at Mamelodi Sundowns and different tactical ideas that include European examples such as those from Manchester City.

"At no point, and I repeat, at no point, were current Sundowns tactical plans or confidential material was shared with me.”

He also gave a character appraisal of his former colleague saying: “Mario is a great man, someone I consider a friend, a former colleague, but above all, a hardworking professional and a family man. I would never ask him to compromise his integrity for me. I would never ask anyone to risk their career for a competitive advantage.”

As if to confirm his integrity and commitment to putting in maximum effort into his work, Mokwena shared a message he received from a former boss.

“One of my former presidents - I will not mention his name - after hearing these allegations, called me and said, ‘Believe me, I don't believe this. I know your work. I know your investment. In front of me sits a 50-page report about the next opposition and that happened to be your last game.'”

Mokwena was essentially sending a message that should he beat Sundowns, it would not be because he got inside info from a former colleague, but rather because he had done his own homework and prepared diligently as he always does. This is something his former employers ought to know very well.