AmaZulu FC president Sandile Zungu has revealed how Teko Modise’s critique has changed their approach in the player recruitment ahead of the new season.
Usuthu parted ways with 15 players at the end of last season, excluding the ones that were on loan and returned to their parent clubs. And for the upcoming season, they have announced only four signings – Darren Johnson, Ryan Moon, Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya and Keegan Allan.
They have also promoted Asanda Mzobe, Onke Ncama and Minenhle Ngcobo in addition to several DDC players who were promoted last season. They also welcomed back a few players from loan.
This comes after former Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates star Teko Modise urged KwaZulu-Natal clubs to focus on nurturing local talent and producing their own players, rather than consistently signing “rejects.”
WHAT TEKO MODISE SAID ABOUT KZN TEAMS’ STRUGGLES LAST YEAR
“You look at the type of signings that the Durban teams do; they’re always signing players that are not playing somewhere else to come and play here,” said Modise. “So, you never really have the core team that really wants to play. So, in essence, you’re taking rejects from other teams to come and play here.
“I don’t think that works for the teams. When Golden Arrows were Golden Arrows Abafana Bes’thende, they had players from here – Durban.
“There’s a lot of talent in Durban if you can go back to the rural areas in the communities and find players from Durban here. One thing is they’ve got a pride to play for the Durban teams. So, you want players who have pride to play for these teams.
“And if that can be fixed…I’m not saying they shouldn’t sign players from other teams. But they should find balance. Other players from other teams shouldn’t overpower the players that are from Durban.”
Zungu admitted that Modise’s critical words were a wake-up call for the club. He further expressed strong confidence in the youthful squad they’ve assembled.
He added that they’ve significantly lowered the squad’s average age, dropping it from 30 years and one month to just 24 years for the upcoming 2025/26 season.
ZUNGU – ‘…SO THANKS TO TEKO MODISE’
“Last year, Teko Modise said something publicly. We took it to heart, we’re not angry about it,” said Zungu.
“We said ‘No, he may be raising an issue very sharply’. Most likely, he loves the teams of KwaZulu-Natal. He wants us to succeed. And perhaps he was annoyed that we can’t extract and unlock talent from our midst, and we take shortcuts, which is costly, looking for people who are close to retirement.
“That was his comment, and we took it to heart. You will be pleased to know that the average age of our team last year was 30 years and one month. And with the team that I’ll be revealing, we’ve pushed it down to just over 24 years.
“So, we’ve cut off six years, and the quality is very good, if not better. So, thanks to Teko Modise, who basically woke us from the slumber.”
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