With differing views on the matter, veteran coach Augusto Palacios has made his choice on who he thinks should be named the 2023/24 DStv Premiership Coach of the Season.
Though he admits both Mamelodi Sundowns tactician Rulani Mokwena as well as Steve Barker of Stellenbosch FC would be deserving of the honour, Palacios says the former is the best coach in the country.
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"Rulani went through all the coaching phases," notes 'Njenje', speaking to KickOff.com.
The ex-Orlando Pirates caretaker coach adds, "He started at Platinum Stars development, like Pep Guardiola who started coaching at the juniors at Barcelona, moved to the reserves, then became an assistant coach at the senior team, and now he is head coach.
"Rulani achieves what he achieves not by luck but by hard work. He is a hard worker. I know because I worked with him at Orlando Pirates, we traveled together to Brazil with Project X.
"He can make mistakes like a normal coach does, but the most important thing about him is his passion for football. He works 24 hours."
Palacios feels a sense of jealousy may be influencing the way some people in the football fraternity view Mokwena, what with some saying he has all the material in the world and should be winning games with his eyes closed.
"If he has many people jealous, it happened to me when I was a coach, many people were jealous, but it didn't bother me. I focused on my work.
"He must forget about the record of finishing a league campaign without a loss, the record will take care of itself.
"At the moment he is the best in the country, followed by the Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker.
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"Those are two coaches who might be the Coach of the Season in South Africa, but the coach who wins the league always has an advantage. This is my opinion."
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