Madisha could have been Bafana and Sundowns captain – Mashaba 

Former Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba believed highly in the late Motjeka Madisha’s abilities to the point that he thought the young defender had the capabilities to one day lead Mamelodi Sundowns and the national team.

READ: Tributes pour in for late Sundowns defender Motjeka Madisha

Barely a week since the burial of former Downs right-back Anele Ngcongca, the Brazilians and the football fraternity are mourning the untimely passing of Madisha, who died in a car crash in Kempton Park on Sunday morning.

His vehicle caught fire after colliding with the road safety barriers. Madisha was with a passenger who was also declared dead on the scene.

“He was a quiet youngster and he had the potential to become the captain of both Bafana Bafana and Sundowns. When water is spilt you cannot put it back into the cup, what else can we say… we are shattered,” Mashaba told Phakaaathi.

The former Bafana coach, who observed the 25-year-old’s talent when he was in the Bafana hot seat, recalled a long list of footballers who lost their lives on the road, usually in the wee hours of the morning. Despite the outcry, Mashaba says there is nothing much that clubs can do to prevent such from happening.

“It is becoming a problem because we always cry about these players; Richard Henyekane, Lesley Manyathela, Gift Leremi and others. Last month it was Anele who died in a car crash. I know when things are like this people will say players must be taught, but there is no way players will be taught things like these. They are not staying at club houses like boarding school,” said Mashaba.

He continued: “It is really sad because they have not finished wiping tears because they just buried Anele, but we are saying Sundowns must be comforted at this point in time, they can’t be sitting and hanging themselves and say if Madisha was here and so forth… he is not here anymore, sad and tragic as it is, it is reality. We have got to work hard to accept that he is no more and there is nothing that can happen now.

“Sundowns are really going to miss him at the back because of the responsibility that they gave him. He was playing more like a sweeper which is a very demanding position and he has been doing that very well and there was no one who doubted his abilities.”

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.