Former SuperSport winger announces retirement
During his peak, Daine Klate was a fast and tricky winger with an eye for a goal and was also capable of scoring from free-kicks.
Former SuperSport United winger Daine Klate has retired from football, bringing his 16-year illustrious career to an end.
Klate, who was in Chippa United colours last season, announced his retirement on his social media page last week.
“After 16 years in the PSL, I finally decided to hang up my boots and announce my retirement,” he said.
The 34-year-old leaves the game as one of the best players to feature in the Premier Soccer League history with a record of six league titles under his belt.
He won three titles in a row while playing for SuperSport, two with Orlando Pirates and then his last with Bidvest Wits.
During his peak, Klate was a fast and tricky winger with an eye for a goal who could also score from free-kicks.
The Port Elizabeth born star made his name while playing for United under the mentorship of Gavin Hunt.
Klate’s pace, crossing ability and goals helped SuperSport to win three league titles in a row from 2007-2010.
Following his success with United, Klate jumped the ship and joined Pirates in 2010. He was instrumental in helping the Soweto giants win their first trophy (MTN 8) in 10 years.
In the five years at Pirates, Klate won seven trophies which led fans to believe that the winger was the one who brought luck to Pirates.
Former Pirates captain Lucky Lekgwathi confirmed this week, adding “although Klate was small in stature, he had a heart of a lion in the field”.
PSL chairman Dr Irvin Khoza described Klate as a dedicated player.
“He’s been exemplary as a player. More importantly, he is always positive, he displayed the power of silence and did things quietly. He was never disruptive, never argumentative and everything he had issues, he raised it quietly.
“Klate has rare qualities in football.”
Khoza praised Klate for balancing life as an academic and soccer player.
Following his move from Pirates in 2015, Klate joined Wits where he won the PSL title for a record sixth time.
He also represented Bafana Bafana 13 times between 2005 and 2013.
He was also named as the Player of the Season for the 2009/2010 campaign while at SuperSport.
Klate will be taking up a position on Chippa coach Clinton Larsen’s technical team as an assistant coach this coming season.
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
