Tefu will ‘gladly give youngsters a chance’
JOHANNESBURG: That the country’s best player is continually overlooked for national duty is no train smash.
Even after emerging as the biggest winner during the PSL awards, where he walked away with three accolades accompanied by a massive R450 000, Kaizer Chiefs captain Tefu Mashamaite was his usual humble self. While many a footballer would have used the crowning moment to bemoan their omission or punt their inclusion, the 30-year-old tough-as-nails defender, has kept his cool about the status quo.
“It’s a dream (to play for Bafana Bafana) but you listen to what the coach said about building more towards 2022 and me being 30, I will gladly give the youngsters a chance. I think it’s time they come into the stage and shine. If I do get a nod and given a role to go guide youngsters I will gladly accept that,” said Mashamaite, who has less than 10 Bafana Bafana caps.
“The mindset of South Africa is that once you reach 30, you have passed your sell by date, forgetting that most of the players kind of sign their professional contracts at the age of 21, 22, 23. Look at Pule Ekstein no one believes he is 24. He played his first game at the age of 24. We have to took at our environment and say it is different.”
In the last two seasons, Mashamaite has been a permanent fixture on Chiefs’ line up. He marshaled the defence with excellence. During the recently ended season, the man from Bochum in Limpopo, played every match in the league. Not only did he keep strikers from scoring but he also scored vital goals for Amakhosi, who went on to win the Premiership and the MTN8. They also to set a new record in the league by finishing with 69 points.
On Sunday night, when the masses at Sandton Convention Centre stood not once, or twice but three for Mashamaite, it was the culmination of great efforts by a man on whose shoulders rest a cool head. Mashamaite was named Footballer of the Season, Players’ Player of the Season and Defender of the Season at the glittering event. The centreback says there’s still more to come from him.
“I always look to challenge myself. It’s a long journey. I am 30 and believe I am still young. If I apply myself some more, work harder, I think there’s still a lot to come. What brought me here is purpose,” said the politics graduate from Wits University.
“I am very spiritual and I believe I was brought here on earth to discover my purpose. This is just one of the steps along the way. There’s still bigger journey out there. This is one of those moments when you reach the peak of a mountain and you still scale a lot more mountains to go and conquer. Right now I sit where I am, reflect and plan out the future.”
Mashamaite’s journey to stardom has not been a smooth one. He encountered hardships as a student due to lack of finances, was deemed surplus to requirements at Bidvest Wits at some point before his second stint, asked himself whether he was Chiefs material and nearly left before the arrival of coach Stuart Baxter.
“I just want to pursue my dreams some more, keep working and applying the same principles that got me here today. It will be easy to live in this bubble of success and then forget about what really drove you to get where you are.
“Phil Jackson always says: ‘After success you go back, you draw water and you chop wood’. At the end of the day, you have to eat, you have to survive,” said the Chiefs skipper.