Mamelodi Sundowns | ‘Rivaldo Coetzee amongst the best in the WORLD’

Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi believes Rivaldo Coetzee ranks amongst the best midfielders not only in the PSL but the entire world.

Coetzee produced a match-winning performance as the Brazilians walloped Orlando Pirates 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup on Thursday.

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He had a hand in Peter Shalulile’s opening goal for Sundowns, picking him up with a long-range pass from midfield.

And Mngqithi admits Coetzee has unbelievable passing range, adding that the technical team could see his potential when they decided to switch him from defence to midfield.     

“His [Rivaldo Coetzee] passing range is unbelievable, we knew when we converted him into central midfield, very few central midfielders in the country have got a passing range of Rivaldo,” Mngqithi told SuperSport TV.

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“And the tenacity, at times players can rush to make this decisions but Rivaldo is always relaxed and making sure that his passes are as precise as we want and credit must go to the development that he got, coaches that worked with him must get credit,” added Mngqithi.

According to Mngqithi, Coetzee can play for any team in the world, and he believes the former Ajax Cape Town man is in the same space as Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets and Manchester City’s Fernandinho.

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“For me, Rivaldo can play for any big team in the world in that position, if you can compare him with all the top central midfielders, the sixes, you find [Sergio] Busquets in that space, you will find Fernandinho in that space, he’s got those qualities and he performs at the highest level,” continued Mngqithi.

“For me his intellectual capacity and comprehension of tactics is out of this world.”

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Coetzee came close to moving to Scottish giants Celtic three years ago but a foot injury that nearly cut his career short prevented him from earning the deal.