Mamelodi Sundowns defender Grant Kekana has spoken about the profound influence coach Rulani Mokwena has had on his life, both on and off the field.
The 31-year-old defender signed for Sundowns in 2021 from SuperSport United, ending a six-year stay at the club.
Over the last three years, he has earned the trust of the technical team and become a key player in the heart of the Masandawana defence.
He has also become a regular for the Bafana Bafana squad under coach Hugo Broos. He was part of the team that had an impressive run at the AFCON earlier this year in Ivory Coast.
Kekana credits Mokwena for boosting his confidence both as a player and person and transforming him from a reserved individual into a more extroverted one.
WHAT HAS CHANGED IN GRANT KEKANA’S LIFE AFTER WORKING WITH RULANI?
“It has done a lot, to be honest, but one thing that stands out is the confidence,” said Kekana. “I feel a lot more confident when I play, a lot more confident about myself as a human being even outside of football.
“That’s one thing for me that stands out because I’ve always just been someone reserved, who has always just kept to himself. People used to mistake it for humility, but I was just shy.
“Probably, I didn’t understand a lot of things; he’s brought that out of me, which I’m grateful to the coach.”
Kekana says Mokwena has instilled a strong winning mentality in him. He feels that under the leadership of the 37-year-old tactician, he has achieved things he never even dared to dream of.
‘WE ALL HAVE STORIES ABOUT HIM’
“But it’s a lot, I might as well want to write a book about it because it has changed my life and took me to levels that I used to dream of. I didn’t think I’d don the Sundowns jersey, play in the Champions League, win the AFL,” he added.
“In my first season here, we won the treble. So, he had turned me into a winner, someone who believes in winning and goes into games wanting to win, wanting to improve as a player and as a person.
“He reiterates how much [important] being a good human being is, he shows it himself and it rubs out on all of us as players. We all have our stories about him, I’m sure even Terrence [Mashego who was also in the press conference] has his.
“He expects so much but he shows the work that he puts in each and everyday. There’s days where we do video sessions and you can see hasn’t slept or he slept an hour or two but he still shows up.
“And that’s the work, it makes it easier for us to get into the field. Those are the sacrifices he’s talking about, it helps us take ourselves seriously because he invests so much into this game.
“And it just rubs out on each and every one of us as players. We’re only grateful to be working with a coach like coach Rulani.”
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