A grim reality that Chiefs must face
In the ‘good old days’ as the old folk so like saying, a player of George Maluleka’s caliber would only have dreamed of donning the Kaizer Chiefs jersey if we are to be really honest.
George Maluleka. Pic: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Luckily for him that dream came true and he joined Amakhosi just over six years ago.
Do not get me wrong, Maluleka is a good player and I believe we are yet to see the best of him under Pitso Mosimane if he gets to play at all. But he is more of a grafter, a player who must really work hard, give a 100% all the time to be good. And that is good.
But he is not glamorous as the history of the club suggests the team should be. He does not bring that extra fanciness to the side that is known for their fancy style of play.
But he worked his way to Naturena and he became an integral part of Stuart Baxter’s revolution that swept away a league and cup double five years ago. Even after Baxter left, Maluleka continued to be a prominent player for the Naturena-based club.
The way he has left the club who many a player dreams of signing will suggest that there is nothing special about the side anymore. I know that there might be an argument that Sundowns have more appeal because of the high pay cheque there but it cannot be everything.
Yes, he will presumably be paid better but at 31, he hasn’t got much playing years left in him and he should be thinking about the next phase of his career and I believe he stood a better chance at becoming a football analyst or youth coach if he had retired at Amakhosi – or at least in the old days that was the case.
And that is something Chiefs supporters who have now started digging up Maluleka’s unimpressive stats and claiming that he is not such a big loss anyway should face up to – their club is no longer as glamorous.
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