Tefu: Every peak has two valleys

Cape Town - SuperSport United new boy Tefu Mashamaite feels that his time in Sweden was just what he needed to "cool down" after a frenetic couple of months.

The former Kaizer Chiefs captain reached dizzying heights with Amakhosi two seasons ago when he won the league in a record campaign before being crowned the 2015 Footballer of the Year.

But he failed to reach an agreement with the club over a new contract. Hacken eventually signed him in August, and now he is back in his homeland, re-uniting with his former Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter at Matsatsantsa.

"It was going to be more challenging had I stayed after that high," Mashamaite said. "Everybody was going to expect me to achieve this and that, forgetting that I achieved that with a team.

"It was a bit of a good break for me, to get away from the scrutiny and the public. Not that I was running away. Looking at it right now, with reflection, it was a good move for me to go there and cool my head down and then get back here to get down to business."

The 31-year-old centre-back signed a two-year contract with Matsatsantsa, with an option to renew. Having left a Soweto team that was the toast of the country, he joins a United side that watched their Tshwane neighbours Mamelodi Sundowns rule South Africa last season - eclipsing the records Mashamaite's Chiefs set.

"Every peak has two valleys," Mashamaite said. "Sometimes you get on top of a mountain. But you have to go down to get to the top of the mountain again. It's a challenge. It's a new era.

"SuperSport has a history of winning things. They have a great team. It's just about getting here and trying to build something with the team.

"It's not about what happened here two, three years ago. But it's about what we have here and moving forward. Knowing that I am working with someone who is about development and inculcating the culture of winning. It makes me look forward to it.

"Also, the players that have been assembled here give me a positive attitude."