A prophet will never be celebrated at home - Says Rulani Mokwena.

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach, Rulani Mokwena. Image credit: Twitter. 

Mamelodi Sundowns are yet to taste defeat in over 20 games across all competitions under the tutelage of Rulani Mokwena.

The Brazilians wrapped their sixth league title with seven matches to spare, while they are still in the running for the Nedbank Cup and the Caf Champions League.

Downs' success under Mokwena has come on the back of some quality, cutting edge football on the pitch, the type of football one can expect to see from teams coached by the one and only Pep Guardiola.

While Mokwena has earned respect from across the African continent, especially in the hard-to-please North African football sphere, where he is already a subject of speculation concerning joining some of their best clubs, at home he is still a subject of ridicule.

His 'failure' at Orlando Pirates and Chippa United is still thrown in with regular abandon in conversations about the 36-year-old tactician.

If it is not the Pirates and Chippa story, his short term success is attributed to the team's financial muscle, and the quality of the players at his disposal, and not to his tactical acumen.

Fortunately, Mokwena has never been the one to blow his own horn, he has always emphasized how the game belongs to the players.

But, when all is said and done, what is more important is that Mokwena is well aware of the fact that one is never really appreciated enough at home, which is the unfortunate part of South African football when it comes to our coaches.

"My refraining from getting too much into that space is because the game of football is a team sport and I believe the game of football belongs to the players. I stay true to that," said Mokwena as quoted by Times Live.

"We as coaches, our jobs are to support and give some form of preparation and assistance to the players and try to help them with their performances. I genuinely believe this.   

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"I’d rather not go there because South Africa is a very difficult country, but I guess — and I’ve used this quote before — a prophet will never be celebrated at home.  

"That’s why when people send me things, I’m not surprised that a lot of the write-ups about this team, the coaching and the details actually come from Europe. It's from foreign people rather than from South Africa. So why should I go into that space? It's not for me."