Rushine de Reuck

The young centre-back made a big move from Maritzburg United to Mamelodi Sundowns in January. Is this finally his time?

When Rushine de Reuck returned from a stint in Portugal he found himself being turned down by clubs in the GladAfrica Championship and eventually had to settle for playing third-tier football, earning less than R5,000 per month. Fast forward to just over five years later and he is now playing for champions Mamelodi Sundowns, and knocking ever so hard on the Bafana Bafana door. The 25-year-old spoke to KICK OFF’s Lovemore Moyo about his trials and tribulations.

KICK OFF: How has it gone for you as a Mamelodi Sundowns player so far?

Rushine de Reuck: I feel like I am quite privileged to be playing for Sundowns because there are many other players in this league who want this opportunity. Playing for Sundowns is what I have always wanted because this is the best team in the country. Growing up I always dreamed of this because Sundowns wins trophies and they are consistent, and as a player you want to be part of a team that is always in contention for silverware. That way you get to measure where your level is, and this is what I want to do.

Take us through your reaction upon hearing about Sundowns’ interest for the first time …

I think it was last season around January when my agent contacted me to make me aware of

Sundowns’ interest. It was a massive motivator for me to continue working hard and it showed that I was doing something right. I always wanted to be part of a big team after all.

So you went for a year knowing about Sundowns’ interest? How did all that play out in your head?

[Laughing] True that. The wait was long, but it was worth it because I am here now. With the ambition that I have, I wanted to take that next step but at the same time I wanted to repay Maritzburg United for all they had done for me in getting me to be a success. Since I still had a contract with Maritzburg, I needed to be loyal as it would not have been fair for me to be thinking about Sundowns while I was there. But then it was a challenge because at the back of my mind, I always knew that I wanted to take that step. It was a bit tricky, but I am glad that it happened in the end.

How did the move happen, seeing as you joined Sundowns in January this year?

I had just recovered from COVID-19 when my agent told me that Sundowns will now be coming hard for me. I wanted to come because I felt that it was time for me to move as well, having been at Maritzburg for long enough. Having done well for myself I felt like I deserved to play for a bigger team.

This then meant you had to deal with plenty of changes in making this move to Chloorkop, be it the scenery, environment, demands or the general standard of living …

“I ALSO KNOW THAT BEING IN AN ENVIRONMENT LIKE THIS MEANS I CAN ONLY GET BETTER AS A PLAYER.”

It was special finding myself at Chloorkop for the first time. This is what I had always wanted so to finally be in an environment with Mosa Lebusa, Andile Jali, Ricardo Nascimento, Themba Zwane and all the others was a dream come true for me, my family and where I come from in Kalksteenfontein. I also know that being in an environment like this means I can only get better as a player. Being around international players here gives me a lot of belief and motivates me because I see guys like Denis Onyango every day. I can only get better playing for Sundowns. I have a lot of self-belief that I can play wherever I go, so I never undermine myself because I know what I am capable of. I knew that coming here I would be with players who have achieved more than me, but I am here to contribute towards

winning trophies. I am not here to add numbers.

What kind of feeling do you get sharing the dressing room with players who have achieved so much in their careers?

Funnily enough, all of them are still so goal-driven that they want to win all the trophies. They speak about winning the league, Champions League, Nedbank, and they are not satisfied with what they have won. They still want more and that is encouraging for me considering that I haven’t won anything, so I want to be part of that group that wins everything and get to have the same mindset of never being satisfied. When you play for Sundowns a draw is not enough because it feels like a defeat. The change in mentality is important for me because it also helps me grow.

Even on the field of play, surely you have felt the changes because Sundowns is a team that always dominates games …

I feel like I had proper development as ASD Cape Town where we played with a similar philosophy to what we are doing now, keeping the ball and building up from the back. At Sundowns we control games, so it is not much of a difference to where I come from and what I have done in the past. At times I feel like a fan when I watch my teammates play, and when I am part of it, it is great.

Moving to Sundowns has also meant an upgrade to your lifestyle …

I am a very humble guy, so my lifestyle has not changed from what it was at Maritzburg. I am still the same person, eating the same food, still wearing the same clothes so it has not been much of a difference in that regard. Everywhere I have gone my character has remained the same. What is different is that I can now do more with what I have, but I still live the same lifestyle.

Being at Sundowns has meant you also get to have a taste of Champions League football and get to knock on the Bafana Bafana door …

It is special as well because we are playing against the best players in Africa. I played against TP Mazembe and Al Hilal, so it was nice to know that I can compete against them. Having played a few seasons in the PSL, I already knew that I could compete locally and now needed to test myself on a different level, and it is encouraging that I know I can compete there as well. With regards to the national team, it is any young professional footballer’s dream to play for their country and it is the same with me. I have always wanted to play for Bafana, and I know that if I do well here at Sundowns the chance will come so that is one of the reasons why I am pushing as hard as I am now. I have never played for the national team at junior level so it will be nice to get my first cap.

“YOU CANNOT SAY, ‘NOW THAT I AM HERE AT SUNDOWNS THIS IS THE END’.”

What kind of thoughts are you having about Europe having now played there before?

That will always remain at the back of my mind and hopefully Sundowns can be my steppingstone to go on that route. It does not stop here at Sundowns and you always want to take the next step. You cannot say, ‘now that I am here at Sundowns this is the end’. It can’t be. Although Sundowns is the best team in South Africa, I still want to take the next step and if there is interest from Europe then I would want to go. Everyone wants to be in Europe

because that is where the best players are. If I do well here at Sundowns then it is not impossible to go back there.

So, what really happened at Pacos de Ferreira in Portugal?

I was in their B team, though I trained with the first team, which was under Paulo Fonseca, who is now the coach at Roma in Italy. He really liked me and I thought I would get a first team contract because he spoke to me regularly. I was confident that I would get the contract but then when I came home, I heard he [Fonseca] had left Pacos for Sporting Braga. A new coach [Jorge Simao] came in and he didn’t know who I was, so I then didn’t get a chance to go back there. He had his own players, and I had no money to take myself back for an assessment. It was unfortunate it happened that way but then you need to understand that everything happens for a reason.

After you couldn’t go back to Portugal, you then had to start from the bottom and stayed for a year without a team …

I went on trials to many teams, like Mbombela United, Milano United, Cape Town All Stars and Ajax Cape Town, but none of them signed me and I ended up playing in the ABC Motsepe League.

Even Cape Town City’s MDC team didn’t want me at that time. It was very difficult, and I started to doubt myself and my abilities, and at one point I wanted to quit football because after coming back from Portugal I wasn’t even good enough for the National First Division.

That was discouraging for me that I was now a young adult not earning any money to help my family. I went for a year without playing because I didn’t have a team, but I am happy that I didn’t give up. I was a promising player, yet was now stuck, but my perseverance kept me going. I couldn’t believe that after having been in Portugal, the level that I was now good for was the ABC Motsepe League with Hellenic, earning close to nothing. But I had no other option. I couldn’t understand how after leaving for Europe as an 18-year-old playing in the ABC Motsepe League, I then came back to play in the ABC Motsepe League again. Maybe that is what I needed to go through to get strong. I struggled and my mother took care of me at that time, and I take so much pride that I can do the same now. I needed to have a stronger mentality to survive and credit to all those that helped me.

Most people would have taken the easy way out and just given up …

I had been taught by a top coach in Paulo Fonseca and he liked me, but now here I was not being good enough for an NFD team. At that time, I would have taken anything to play and earn because I was desperate. At Cape Town All Stars, Dan Malesela was the coach and after three days they said I shouldn’t come again. At Ajax Cape Town, Roger de Sa was the coach, and it was the same story of being told not to come back. With Milano I only played for their ABC Motsepe team for a month because they didn’t want to offer me a contract in their NFD team. Maybe I didn’t show them enough while I was there, but I am just happy that I have proved them wrong in that I am a good footballer and can play. I was at home when the agent Russell Louise took me to Maritzburg United, where even the MDC team would have been fine with me considering I had been made to believe I was not good enough. But then I found myself in the PSL team not so long after arriving because of the belief that they showed me. Maritzburg brought back the confidence in me. That experience means nothing can break me now.

“I AM JUST HAPPY THAT I HAVE PROVED THEM WRONG.”