Former Orlando Pirates coach Milutin 'Micho' Sredojevic has heaped praise on colleague Rulani Mokwena of Mamelodi Sundowns, speaking exclusively to the Siya crew.
Sredojevic, who is the current head coach of Libya, claims to have had a very good working relationship with Mokwena at the Buccaneers between 2017 and 2019.
The experienced Serbian mentor had been on his second spell with the Soweto giants and Mokwena served as his assistant on his arrival from Sundowns.
At the time, there had been rumours that the two coaches might have not been enjoyed a good work relationship, but Sredojevic has dismissed those reports.
The Good
"We have a special relationship and I enjoyed working with him. Ours was a two-way traffic where we guided each other in whatsoever way. It has been an honorary pleasure working with him, but an even bigger privilege was hosting him in Uganda when I was the coach of Uganda Cranes. I had been in constant touch with him regarding the things. I'm extremely happy and proud of each moment that we spent together. If I can tell you, in 30 years of my coaching, there are two things about Rulani that stand out. I have never wholeheartedly loved the way that I have always loved with him when we were joking and laughing out loud. On the other side, in 30 years of my coaching career, nobody has ever given me that amount of respect the way Rulani Mokwena did to me. When they played in the CAF Champions League last year in Cairo, I had come to their hotel and Rulani Mokwena gave me honorary pleasure and privilege a day before the match to eat dinner with the team and to be his personal guest and the guest of the team. That is something that I will never forget because I value, and I appreciate it. Wherever he is and whatever he does, may the Almighty God bless him and give him the best because he works really hard, and he is the role model and a positive example. His work ethic is unbelievable, and he is such a workaholic who puts so much attention to the deepest details. It is no wonder that blessings from God are showering him," said Sredojevic.
The Bad
In recent weeks, Mokwena been involved in war of words with TS Galaxy coach Sead Ramovic following one of the previous matches between their teams.
Ramovic alleged that Mokwena swore at him in a telephone conversation, but the Brazilians mentor has since described his German counterpart as an attention seeker.
"You don't need to hear my side of the story. I don't think you'd like to hear my side of the story. Let's leave it as it is, he is right and let's leave him to be right, I'm wrong… I'm the bad guy. If I have to say something to Sead, I'll say it again… I'll pick up the phone and I will say it on the phone. I do not think that it is for the public, I don't think so. Because we go into a space that we are not supposed to go to. I don't mind if he comes for me. There are a lot of coaches who have come for me. All he is crying for, I don't know why you can't hear the underlying message, he's won five games in a row. Give him attention. Give him praise, he wants attention," said Mokwena, speaking to the media.
The Ugly
"You see, when you start to say that the club has spent so much money, you also borderline disrespecting the Motsepe family, who are people who give so much of their hard-earned money from the family into football and many other things," the tactician said.
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