When it comes to the DStv Premiership of the Coach of the Season accolade, Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena is not prepared to enter into any arguments as he is of the view that the DStv Premiership-winning coach should get the gong.
Mokwena led the Brazilians to a seventh successive DStv Premiership crown with six games to spare and recently eclipsed the 71-point record tally for a single season after beating Stellenbosch 1-0.
The Coach of Season gong was first awarded in the 2000/01 season where Gordon Igesund was the maiden recipient after leading Orlando Pirates to the championship.
The Buccaneers lost the title to an Igesund-coached Santos the following season, but Gavin Hunt, who was the mentor of Black Leopards led Lidoda Duvha to eighth place. Hunt was named the Coach of the Season instead of Igesund.
There have been a few instances where the PSL would crown a coach who did win the league, with the coveted coaches’ gong, as it is not cast in stone, as that may be the general perspective.
2002/03 – Roger De Sa won the Coach of the Season award after leading the now-defunct Bidvest Wits to a third-place finish, as a league-winning coach was snubbed.
No one has received more Coach of the Season accolades than Pitso Mosimane, who has six trophies bearing his name.
Mosimane won his first in the 2004/05 campaign when he led SuperSport United to a fourth-place finish behind Kaizer Chiefs, Pirates and Sundowns, establishing Matsatsantsa A Pitori as one of the premium clubs in the country.
Veteran coach Owen Da Gama is also a candidate who was named as the best coach without lifting a league title.
In 2005/06, Da Gama was at the helm of little-known Silver Stars and led his side to a fifth-place finish. Muhsin Ertugral was similarly recognised in 2006/07 while at the helm of Ajax Cape Town (today known as Cape Town Spurs) before Igesund was awarded again in the 2011/12 season.
The most recent occasion of a coach being hailed as the best coach without winning a league title was the colourful Benni McCarthy scooping the award in the 2020/21 campaign while at the helm of AmaZulu.
The former Bafana Bafana striker inherited an under-performing Usuthu side hovering close to relegation and transformed them into title contenders, where they fell short to the immovable and unshakable force that is Masandawanana.
“The coach of the season would be me, that’s what I think. I think the coach of the season must be the coach who wins the league. I can not give enough compliments to the work that Steve Barker has done,” Mokwena said.
“He deserves incredible plaudits for the work he has done at Stellenbosch and many of my colleagues. There is some very good work that is being done by Jose Riveiro. But without sounding arrogant, the Coach of the Season would be me, and I have no doubts about it,” Mokwena added.
Sundowns, meanwhile, will be in league action against TS Galaxy on Tuesday night at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
Kick-off is at 19:30.
Starting off the week watching 𝙔𝙀𝙏 𝘼𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍 Ronwen Williams penalty save! 😯🤩#Sundowns #DStvPrem pic.twitter.com/YhFrEHQpSV
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) May 20, 2024
