After months of struggles, looking for a team, the striker Siphelele Mthembu has found himself a new home at Pretoria Callies in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
The former Kaizer Chiefs man penned a six-month deal with the second-tier outfit.
‘Shaka Zulu’, as he is widely known in the football circles, was among more than ten players that were released by AmaZulu in June this year.
The 35-year-old was invited to train with the DStv Premiership rookies Richards Bay FC earlier this season through the club’s co-head coach Vasili Manousakis.
However, Mthembu left a month later after the Natal Rich Boyz opted against signing him.
Mthembu says his age has deprived him of opportunities as some PSL teams who were interested in his services made U-turns.
MTHEMBU ON STRUGGLES TO GET A TEAM
“For me there were options but these teams, even PSL teams, once they see the age, they’re like ‘no’ without even looking at you,” Mthembu told FARPost.
“When they see you playing friendly games, they are like why didn’t you call.
“As a player, you can see there’s a change in PSL, they put more youngsters in, as a result, there’s no balance.
“Without experience at some point, you can see many teams have lost balance.”
Mthembu is confident that Pretoria Callies will be his stepping stone to get back in the groove.
This will be his first time playing outside the top flight since 2008 and has explained why he joined the Pretoria-based side.
WHY MTHEMBU JOINED CALLIES
“Normally, we as players, we want shortcuts where there’s nice stuff,” he added.
“But when God puts you where there’s a crisis, you need to rise up.
“I decided that in order to come back [I have to go] where there’s nothing and make something.
“I was like let me go to a league I have never played before in my life, I have never been here.
“And so far, so good for me because I have [gotten] some compliments even from the opposition coaches.
“A lot of people are asking me why I’m here, ‘you have energy, you’re still strong and still running.’
“I’m like, sometimes you have to listen to what God wants from you and forget about other stuff.”
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