Polokwane City FC captain Puleng Marema has revealed why he has been loyal to the Rise and Shine for more than a decade now.
Marema joined City at the beginning of the 2012/13 season. And since then, he has been a man to rely on at the forefront for many seasons.
The 32-year-old striker has been with the Limpopo outfit during its early days of inception in the NFD, now known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
Marema played an integral role when Polokwane City won promotion to the top-flight in 2013. He became a talisman for the club during their time in DStv Premiership, formerly known as ABSA Premiership.
The striker was part of the team that suffered relegation on the last day of the 2019/20 season, ending the club’s seven-year flirtation with the top-flight.
In that process, Marema’s loyalty was tested, however, he remained despite several players leaving the Polokwane-based club in search of clubs in the top-tier.
MAREMA OPENS UP ON HIS LOYALTY AT POLOKWANE CITY
Speaking in an exclusive interview with FARPost, Marema labelled those days as “painful” but loyalty pushed him to stick with the club.
He says he never left because of the relationship he has with the club’s chairman. Marema went on to state that his salary was not cut, thus, he never saw a reason to look elsewhere.
“Yeah, it was very painful on the last day [relegation], especially that we were in a bio-bubble. Players who stayed in Johannesburg remained behind. Everyone left, I was alone,” he said.
“For me personally, it was painful. So the reason I did not leave [the club] it’s because this club gave me life. And my loyalty was based on the relationship with the chairman of the club, obviously with my family involved and also money-related.
“And obviously I was told the benefits were going to be the same. So normally, when a team gets relegated, there are salary cuts and stuff but for me, it was totally different.
‘MY RELATIONSHIP WITH CHAIRMAN WAS GOOD’
“I felt like I could not go far from home and not get the same benefits, whereas I was at home getting good benefits for my family. Also, my relationship with the chairman was good and that also helped me in becoming a team captain,” Marema added.
Marema’s loyalty eventually paid off as he led the club back into the DStv premiership after three years into the second division.
The skipper has yet to make his first appearance this season as he is recovering from injury.
Meanwhile, Polokwane City FC will be locking horns with Orlando Pirates in a DStv premiership encounter at Orlando Stadium on Friday evening at 7:30 pm.
Story by Mashale Mpho Mabotja
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