Phakaaathi.co.za Makhaula bloomed at the ripe old age of 25
Tshepo Ntsoelengoe
Many footballers give up on their dream of playing professional football if they don’t break into the big time by the time they turn 25. Often they resort to finding a job in order to make ends meet, though they carry on playing amateur football because they are passionate about the game.
For some, however, opportunity does knock even at this stage of a player’s career – it has happened in the Premier Soccer League to the likes of former Orlando Pirates striker Lennox Bacela and former Kaizer Chiefs striker David Zulu, to mention just two.
And similar good fortune also fell the way of Free State Stars’ versatile Makhehleni Makhaula, who signed for Ea Lla Koto in 2014. The club had invited him for trials while he was still playing his football for amateur side Trabzon FC from Mohlakeng in the West Rand while working as a security guard.
“It was really like a dream come true for me to finally get a chance to play professional football, but to be honest, I didn’t see it coming,” said Makhaula who is the father of a three-month-old daughter.
“As you grow older there comes a point when you need to be independent and attend to your responsibilities. And because it seemed like nothing was coming up for me in football, I had to make a choice and look for a job because I could not depend on my family anymore. I knew it was the right thing to do, but again, I couldn’t stop playing football.
“I am passionate about the game, I would go to work and go straight to training afterwards. Sometimes I would even get to work late because of league games.”
Having spent three seasons already in the PSL, Makhaula has really made a name for himself at Ea Lla Koto in the last two seasons. He has been one of the key players at the club even though there has been a lot of changing of coaches.
The 27-year-old, who can play as a rightback and in central midfield, says having to fight to avoid relegation has been a bad experience at the club, but reaching the Telkom Knockout and the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals in the last two years is something he will cherish forever.
“For me, I would say my first year with the club was a learning curve on how things are done in top-flight football. I had to adjust to the professional ways of doing things. I am glad I did and I managed to be a regular in the team the following season,” he continued.
“It has been a blessing for me to play for Stars and as much as there has been lots of disappointment, there are also some good memories to share. We have been fighting to avoid being relegated for the past two seasons, which is not good at all. But we have a good fighting spirit and we always make it a point that we won’t get relegated.”
A major factor that Makhaula believes has played a huge impact on the team’s dismal display for the past years is the changing of coaches and the rumours about the club being put up for sale, which he says has hindered the club’s progress.
“We all know it takes time to get used to a coach’s philosophy when he comes into the team, and with our situation, we changed coaches about three times. It really affects the players’ minds because once we get used to a particular coach, we get told that we will be bringing in a new coach.
“Another thing that demoralised us was hearing news that the club would be sold. It was not a good thing because we all became worried about our jobs and forgot about playing football. I am just glad that our chairman (Mike Mokoena) sat us down and told us the club was not for sale.”