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- Teko Modise said his dreams of playing overseas were shattered by politics within football.
- The failure to play abroad also derailed his focus and impacted him off the field.
- The midfield maestro won two Premier Soccer League titles at Mamelodi Sundowns and the CAF Champions League.
Former Bafana Bafana midfield ace Teko Modise revealed that he was shattered by his failure to play for an overseas-based club at the peak of his powers because of what he called "politics".
The former Orlando Pirates general was the fulcrum of South Africa’s football leading up to and including the 2010 Fifa World Cup and a move abroad was hot on the agenda before and after the tournament.
However, such a move never materialised despite interest from English clubs Stoke City and West Brom, as well as Greek club Panathinaikos.
Speaking with another Bafana midfield legend, Doctor Khumalo, on Puma South Africa’s Instagram LIVE, Modise said he was shattered that he was never let go to ply his trade overseas.
"As a young footballer or aspiring footballer, you always have dreams to become better and better and once you start being better, your dreams also tend to increase," he said.
"What disappointed me in the game itself was not understanding the politics. When I was young, I was looking at you guys (Khumalo) playing, it was all fun.
"The politics that come with stopping players from trying to pursue their dreams was what disappointed me the most. As a team you have goals and dreams; you wanna win the league and this and that.
"But as individual players, you want to play for Bafana Bafana and to play for a big team and I had done all those things. I was giving my heart and soul to the team. I wanted to go overseas but I was not being given the chance to even get onto the plane.
"Let me go and fail there, then it’s fine. But not being given the opportunity to go and see if I’m good enough to be part of the overseas-based players, that shattered my dreams."
Modise, who ended his playing career at Cape Town City last year, also admitted that the failed move abroad derailed him off the field.
"It also distracted me," the 37-year-old said.
"I lost two years of my playing career because I was still nursing that wound. At the time the fans thought, 'No, he thinks he’s better [than South Africans]', but they were looking from the outside looking in.
"Inside, I was struggling with being Teko Modise the superstar but was I overseas material? No because I was only playing here. I’d seen guys like yourself (Khumalo), Shoes [Moshoeu], Helman [Mkhalele] going overseas, so why when it came to me it became a problem?
"That messed me up."
In spite of that, "Donadoni" still went on to have a glittering career at Mamelodi Sundowns under Pitso Mosimane, whom he joined in 2011 after leaving the Buccaneers, winning the Absa Premiership twice and the CAF Champions League among a slew of trophies.
- Compiled by Sport24 staff.
