Golden Arrows goalie keen to prove his net worth
AT 26, goalkeeper Sherwyn Naicker is still honing his skills, but he can safely be assigned journeyman status.
After impressing in his first season of top-flight football with Jomo Cosmos two years ago, he is returning to the Premier Soccer League, this time in the colours of Golden Arrows.
Naicker penned a one-year deal with the club last week. After playing for Supersport United, Milano FC and Mpumlanga Black Aces, he has made his way back to the city of his birth.
“I am delighted to be back in Durban,” the goalie from Chatsworth said. “I have played everywhere and this is most comfortable I have ever felt. I know the area and my family and friends are here.”
He spent three weeks on trial with Abafana Bes’thende before cracking the nod from head coach Clinton Larsen.
“I got a call from an old club mate, Wayde Jooste, who told me about an opportunity to try out, so I grabbed it,” said Naicker, who is the only player of Indian descent in the PSL.
“After Milano, my plan was to go to Tuks as I had already spoke to Shaun Bartlett but at the last minute it didn’t happen.”
It has been a long journey for Naicker. He left Durban in 2005 to pursue his dream, joining the Supersport United Academy.
Now that he is back in the PSL, Naicker said his main focus was to establish himself at Arrows.
He said: “I learnt a lot at Cosmos. Getting relegated was tough, but you have to have a strong mind. It is a difficult league and you can never really be in a comfortable position.”
He will face tough opposition for the number one jersey, with Namibian Maximilian Mbaeva and Nkosingiphile Gumede ahead of him in the pecking order.
“There is competition,” he said. “They are great guys and we push each other every day in training.”
Former Arcadia Shepherds and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Deshi Bhaktawer believes Naicker has the right qualities to succeed at Arrows.
“I’ve watched him a couple times,” he said. “He’s a good goalkeeper with the correct attitude. He has got the ability and the agility.”
Bhaktawer, who has spent the fast few years in Asia working with Atletico de Kolkota in the Indian Super League, urged Naicker to keep refining the technical aspects of his game.
“He has to work on explosive power and the big thing now is to play outside the box,” he said. “It pushes the rest of the team further up. It is a whole new art form.”
For Naicker to challenge for a starting place, Bhaktawer said he must first understand his role at the club.
“Sherwyn can learn a lot from Clinton Larsen,” the former goalkeeper said.
“He needs to understand what the coach wants from him and to keep pushing and working hard.”