Evergreen Daniels to soldier on
SUPERSPORT DEFENDER AIMS TO PUSH THE BOUNDARIES AND CARRY ON INTIL HE IS 40
When you think of great players who have won almost everything in domestic football except the grandest of them all – the league title – former Liverpool stalwart Steven Gerrard has to top the list.
On the local scene, SuperSport United’s Clayton Daniels is one of those who have collected every other gold medal there is in the Premier Soccer League, except for the Absa Premiership.
In fact, Daniels came close in the 2010/11 season in his final stint with Ajax Cape Town when the Urban Warriors lost the title to Orlando Pirates on the last day on goal difference as they were both tied at 60 points.
The fact that a player like Fernando Torres, who boasts of a glittering CV with the Fifa World Cup and Uefa Champions League among other achievements but has not won a league title does not give Daniels the leeway to relax and say, ‘okay, I am not the only one’. He wants the Absa Premiership gold medal and he does not have much time left.
“It doesn’t make it fine for me. I still have desires and goals, I would love to lift the league title,” said Daniels, who at least lifted a second MTN8 title earlier this month.
“I don’t take these things for granted because many players have not won anything and so many clubs have not been in that situation for many years and we used the opportunity and we made it two out of three MTN8s.”
Daniels will be 36 next season and is nearing two decades of playing in the top fl ight as he has turned out for Bloemfontein Celtic and Mamelodi Sundowns as well before becoming Matsantsantsa’s mainstay at the heart of defence since 2014.
Head coach Kaitano Tembo says Daniels forms part of his spine along with goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, captain Dean Furman and striker Bradley Grobler. Next to Daniels, there have been many centrebacks coming and going and Daniels jokes about how no one wants to be his defensive partner.
“It seems that no one really wants to take that position next to me and make it their own because every time I play with a new partner but ja, it comes with the territory and I need to show my leadership skills.
“So far the two guys who have been playing next to me, Bongani Khumalo and Grant Kekana, are challenging each other and they have a good competition going on. It is also good pressure on me. It keeps me on my feet because I know that if I slip up, one of them can take my position but I am not going to allow that,” he told Phakaaathi.
The reason why the tough defender manages to keep his place and looks fitter than most of his team-mates is because he does extra training.
“It is all about how you look after yourself and go to training every day and you must always be ready to learn and always try to improve your game because you are never too old to learn something new, you are a professional and you always have to be at the top of your game.
“I know why I am playing football, not only for myself but for a lot of people who are in my circle and they are my driving force, especially my kids. They watch me and look up to me and at the end of the day I am doing this to put food on their table and give them a better life.
“I just want to keep it going for as long as possible, I have got so much love for this game and I am still passionate about it. I do extra training just to keep me sharp and keep myself ahead of everyone else and I am looking forward to playing another two or three seasons.
“So for now it is another two seasons here and if there is a third one, I will listen to the body and take it from there. I would love to retire at SuperSport because I love this club, they are very close to my heart. The bosses and the coaches know my plan is to stay here and not to leave the club and go and play anywhere else.
“This is my home and I would love to stay here for as long as possible,” said Daniels, who changed his surname from Jagers in respect of his family while he was still at Ikamva. He goes into detail about why he changed his identity.
“I had Jagers as my surname that I had been carrying all these years in the beginning and I changed it to my mother’s surname because Jagers was my stepfather’s surname.
“I was brought up by my stepfather, not by my own father.”