Klate bids to be champ in Wits’ colours
DAINE Klate is something of a romantic when it comes to talking about which of the five Absa Premiership medals he owns – three from his time at SuperSport United and two with Orlando Pirates – has a special place in his heart.
The Bidvest Wits’ midfielder wrote his name in Premiership football folklore when he won a hat-trick of league titles with Matsatsantsa from the 2007/08 season until the 2009/10 campaign.
He switched from Pretoria to Johannesburg after that and went on to win two more with Pirates to lift the Holy Grail a record five times in a row.
Those five gold medals and other pieces of silveware make him the most decorated player in the country, in a career spanning more than a decade.
“The first league title is the most precious one because it was my first,” Klate said.
“It’s like anything out there in the world that’s your first, it means a lot – from having your first child to your first time in school. Any first time will always be special.
“I had another opportunity to have another first with Orlando Pirates. They had not won the league in eight years, the first time I get there luckily enough for me I got to add a fourth league title. I would say the two first ones at SuperSport and Pirates are the most memorable.”
Now he is looking for his first with the Clever Boys where he re-united with coach Gavin Hunt and Elias Pelembe from their days at Matsatsantsa.
Their winning mentality has rubbed off on the team as they have enjoyed their best start under Hunt, going to the Christmas break joint-top with Mamelodi Sundowns where only a superior goal difference put the Brazilians ahead.
Goal difference
Klate won the 2008/09 Premiership with Matsatsantsa ahead of Pirates thanks to a superior goal difference after both clubs ended the season on 55 points.
So he and Hunt must have been disappointed when the club conceded five goals in their last three matches even though they scored seven times because that saw Sundowns leapfrog them at the summit just before the break.
That’s why the Clever Boys will look to not only rake up the points but goals too when they take on Chippa United this afternoon at Klate’s hometown of Port Elizabeth at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
A lot more than goals is expected from Klate with his leadership needed in a side that has more players chasing their first league winners’ medal.
It’s a role that Klate feels at home doing but isn’t dropping the ball in the scoring department as he leads the club’s scorer’s chart with six goals.
“Having played this long, I have learnt so many things yet I am still open minded to learn new things,” Klate said.
“That’s the nice part about it because in football you can never know everything.
“I am trying to rub that off on the young players, that you might be talented like Phakamani (Mahlambi) is.
“But what has he achieved? He hasn’t achieved anything yet. People raving about him isn’t enough.
“He has to have the drive to go on and achieve a lot more and never be satisfied.”
Klate remembers how it felt when he couldn’t win his sixth league winners’ medal.
“With winning five league titles in a row, you had to stop at some point,” Klate said.
“But it doesn’t mean it has to stop permanently. This season we have a good chance to win the league.”