Rulani Mokwena compares Themba Zwane to Bernardo Silva

Mokwena was speaking after yet another top-class performance by Zwane as he scored the equalizer during the 2-1 win over Algerian side CR Belouizdad as the Brazilians cruised 6-2 on aggregate to the semi-finals. This was Zwane’s 19th goal in the CAF Champions League, the greatest number of goals scored by a Sundowns and South African player in this tournament. 

Mokwena says Zwane makes him a great coach.

"It's just a pleasure to coach Mshishi. Good players make coaches better and that's what he makes me every single day, he makes me better. An amazing human being, an amazing aura. Pep was talking about Bernardo Silva and how good Bernado makes the team play, without goals, without assists for sure. Mshishi actually makes us play a lot better, he does," he said.

With this goal, Zwane also equaled Surprise Moriri’s 78 goals as the number two all-time leading goal scorer at Sundowns, after Daniel “Mambush” Mudau’s 110 goals in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) era. On more than one occasion, Zwane has been voted as the Players Player of the Season by fellow professional players in the country and Mokwena says this speaks volumes about the man.

"Mshishi is one of the great footballers we'll ever see in South Africa. We are just fortunate. The biggest testament of being a great footballer is when the compliment comes from fellow footballers and you hear how players speak about Mshishi," he added.

 Mokwena who has been working with the 33-year-old since 2014 says he’s disciplined on and off the field.

"Again, another one that is a testament is that to be a top footballer you have to be a top human being and that's what Mshishi is. Before everything else that you see on the pitch and all these other things, the amount of work that he does for the young ones and the support that he gives to the players and the confidence."