Mokwena evades questions on who is the Sundowns captain

There has been confusion on who is the Mamelodi Sundowns captain after Hlompho Kekana officially parted ways with the club last month.

The Sundowns armband has changed hands from Ricardo Nascimento to Denis Onyango and Mosa Lebusa since Kekana stopped playing regularly for the club after the departure of coach Pitso Mosimane last year.

Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena left more questions than answers as he attempted to clarify the situation when asked to provide clarity on who the club captain is.

“We have got unbelievable leaders in the change room,” said Mokwena.

In recent matches since the start of the new season, the armband has changed hands between Lebusa and Onyango.

Lebusa wore the armband as Sundowns beat TS Galaxy in a DStv Premiership match at the weekend and it remains to be seen if the left-footed centre-back will again lead the team when they confront Orlando Pirates in Soweto on Saturday at 3pm.

“I mean from Kennedy Mweene to Onyango to Lebusa, we don’t rely only on who wears the armband.

“We have got a lot of senior players that assume the responsibility in the change room, and because of this, it becomes just a formality for us.

“The Fifa rules say someone must wear the armband but the reality is any one of our 36 players can be a leader and can be a captain.

“We believe in that sort of leadership style where we want accountability and responsibility, but we also want what we call shared leadership.

“Once you have that, you then move into having a team where in your defensive line you have got leaders, in your midfield line you have leaders.

“Andile Jali and  Rivaldo Coetzee could be easily wearing that armband. We are in that space.”

Mokwena said Sundowns are fortunate to have big and strong personalities in the team who are able to wear the armband at any given time.

“That is the way we love the team to have this. They control the change room and help us.

“And really to be honest it is not just about wearing the armband or even in good moments you show leadership.

“It is very easy to lead when things are OK and rosy, but what we look for in our players is the ability to stand up and be counted, and have the presence in the change room and on the pitch when things are not going so well.

“That is what we have. We have so many of these personalities and we are extremely fortunate to have that, which then puts us in a position where we don’t really rely on the armband to show who our leaders are.”