Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi heaps praise on 'unselfish human being' Thapelo Morena

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi has paid glowing tribute to utility player Thapelo Morena as an unselfish team member who has lasted in the game because of his professionalism. 

Morena, who is also admired by Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos, has gone about his business at Sundowns for almost eight seasons with dedication and without fanfare to win the hearts of the hard-to-please club fans as “Mr Reliable”. 

Throughout the years at Chloorkop, Morena has remained committed despite plaudits often going to attacking players like Teko Modise‚ Percy Tau‚ Bongani Zungu‚ Keegan Dolly‚ Themba Zwane‚ Sibusiso Vilakazi, Gaston Sirino and Lucas Ribeiro. 

Mngqithi said one of the strong qualities of Morena, who is one of the most decorated players in South Africa with seven league titles, is selflessness, adding that he has shown strong leadership even when not playing. 

“It is a pity because now if I talk nicely about him, you will think it is because he is sitting next to me — but I like him a lot,” said Mngqithi as he addressed the media with Morena ahead of the second leg of their Champions League final preliminary clash against Mbabane Swallows at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday (6pm).

“Strangely, this morning I touched on something like that within the group when we were doing our video analysis earlier. Part of the things I've been asking them is from the book The Art of War — the five pillars of leadership. I continuously ask from all of them that this club doesn’t only need players but it needs leaders — people who understand what leadership is all about.

“The first and biggest challenge you will have as a leader is if you are selfish, because among the pillars of leadership, selflessness is probably the most important one. Your intellectual capacity to be able to see beyond what is happening at that point in time. According to Dr Stephen Covey it is always beginning with the end in mind.

“If you decide to grumble because you are not playing and someone else is playing, the question is: would you be happy if the same would happen [others complain] when you get the opportunity?

“I saw the same selflessness in the game we played against SuperSport United from Themba Zwane. If he was a selfish person, it would have been easy for him to score the goal that was scored by Lucas Ribeiro. He [Zwane] realised the ball was going on target and there was no one to stop it and he still made sure that he does not touch it so that he steals the glory and made it his goal. That is selflessness and it is among five pillars of leaders and Thapelo is an epitome of that. 

“He is a very good human being and good boy.” 

Mngqithi said Morena supports teammates who play in his position. 

“Besides being a good boy, he is a good professional. When we moved Khuliso Mudau to that right-back position, he never sulked. When he came back form injury, he was ready to wait for his chance. 

“If you are selfish and everything is always about you, it will always come back to bite you. His career is this long because of that. He has suffered a lot of bad injuries but because of his positive energy and mind, it always keeps him going.” 

Morena said his longevity is due to the way he looks after himself and support from his family. 

“It is mostly what you do off the pitch because normally we play every three days. It is important how you recover, what you eat, spending time with my family — and I watch a lot of football to see where I can improve,” he said. 

Morena added he has given his all to the club since he joined from Bloemfontein Celtic in 2016 because he wants to leave the jersey in a better state than he found it. 

“I give everything on the field because I know it might be the last game or it might open other doors. Now we are fighting to get into the Champions League and we know it is going to be difficult. 

“I also want to help whoever is coming behind me because there is a saying, 'leave the jersey better than you found it'. I want to inspire young people and fight for the badge because this is a big club. 

“It is not all about me but the team, where we support one another on the field. Even if I don’t play, I have to support the player who is playing in my position by giving them the respect and helping them to improve. 

“Tomorrow it might be me and I will also need the help — and if I don’t give, it means I will not receive it.”