Former Kaizer Chiefs striker’s message to players who sign for big teams

Having played at two of some of the best teams in the country Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns, one might think it would be easy for Edward Manqele to reminisce about his stints at the Soweto outfit and the Pretoria outfit.

Manqele, who admits that playing for Amakhosi was a dream come true for him, doesn’t want to dwell on things that went wrong at Chiefs, as well as at Downs.

“Let bygone be bygones, it’s just that a lot of things happened. It’s just that sometimes it’s better to let some things stay behind. I used to support Chiefs and one day I wished to wear those colours. Luckily that dream came true even though as many games I would have loved to play. I got injured, but a lot of people didn’t know. I had a surgery and I was out for a very long time. I remember it was during December and people didn’t know. That’s when my things started to fall apart.”

“But then, I don’t regret playing for Chiefs or Sundowns. It’s good for your profile as a player. And again, sometimes you must feel privileged because a lot of players wish to play for these teams and it doesn’t happen for them.”

The striker’s message to players who sign with big club not too get comfortable when they get to big team and says they must just focus at the job at hand forget about the money and fame.

“What hits most of us players playing for these teams is that when we get there you become comfortable and that’s when problems start coming. Because now you are playing for a big team and earning big money you think you arrived. But money is money because if you don’t play it’s a problem. You have to keep on working hard because you might never know who might be watching out there. These are some of the things that players need to learn. Just keep on working hard.”