Many footballers dream of playing for a giant like Orlando Pirates. For Cape Town Spurs defender Tshepo Gumede, that dream turned into reality, but not quite as he envisioned.
Gumede has shed light on his move to Pirates, detailing the ambitions he had for his time there and why he ended up leaving the club.
The righted-footed centre-back’s talent was nurtured at SuperSport United. He was promoted to the senior team in 2009 and had two loan spells with Mpumalanga Black Aces and Blackburn Rovers before he switched to Platinum Stars.
He signed for the Buccaneers in the middle of the 2014/15 campaign.
Gumede was aiming to take over from the centre-backs such as Thamsanqa Sangweni and Rooi Mahamutsa who were “ageing”.
TSHEPO GUMEDE ON WHY PIRATES MOVE MADE SENSE
“At the time, it made sense to go to Pirates,” said Gumede during the interview with FARPost.
“They had an ageing backline with the likes of [Thamsanqa] Sangweni and Rooi Mahamutsa playing then. The plan was to be next in line after them.
“But God said, ‘No, not now,’ but Pirates was very nice.”
The Soweto-born man left Pirates after 18 months to join the then-newcomers Cape Town City FC, who had bought a club’s status from Mpumalanga Black Aces.
‘I LEFT PIRATES BECAUSE I WANTED TO PLAY & WANTED TO PLAY RIGHT NOW’
“I spent 18 months there,” he added.
“So, I left Pirates because I wanted to play and I wanted to play right now.
“I didn’t care who’s playing and who’s not playing. I didn’t want guarantees of coach or anyone.
“But from what I saw I thought I should also be on the field. That’s why I left. Just that, everything else was good.
“That’s why they didn’t have a problem when I left.”
Gumede went on to turn out for AmaZulu, Cape Umoya United, Marumo Gallants and Maritzburg United before he made recent move to Spurs.
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