Normally at the age of 36, most players are looking to hang up their boots and go bask in the sun while looking back at their achievements but that’s not the case with Mamelodi Sundowns captain Hlompho Kekana, who has told the club that he wants to play more games as opposed to last season.
Kekana has been the mainstay in the Sundowns midfield, playing no fewer than 25 games for about seven years running.
His game time was drastically reduced in the previous campaign where he made a number of cameo appearances and a rare start here and there. He has three years left on his contract but the club could actually release him as they are locked in negotiations with the skipper.
“Gonzalez”, as he is affectionately known, wants to see himself spending less time on the stands, but his coach, Rulani Mokwena, says he and his partner, Manqoba Mngqithi, cannot guarantee Kekana more game time this season as they kick start the defence of their DStv Premiership title against AmaZulu on Friday afternoon.
Mokwena breaks downs the situation around the club captain who has lifted six league titles, the Telkom Knockout and Nedbank Cup twice, a Caf Champions League title together with the Super Cup, and appearances at the Fifa Club World Cup.
What Kekana means to Sundowns
“People who have huge emotional attachment to the club love Hlompho and it becomes extremely difficult but Mother Nature is Mother Nature. Hlompho is still the captain of the club, he is a proven winner, he is someone who we love and respect but the reality is that he did not play much last season and he was not happy, he spoke about it saying he was disgruntled about the amount of minutes he got.”
The stumbling block
“It is a different scenario because a lot of what we think is influenced by what Hlompho thinks and at this point we sit in a situation where he wants to play more than we probably can guarantee. That’s not to say we don’t think he is good enough. The way we play with the intensity and certain things that we do and the program that we face with the many games we have to play.”
Age as factor
“We don’t have to be scientist to explain that the older you are, you need a little bit more time to recover and it becomes very important for us to make sure that our players recover on time for the next match because we have a lot of pressure to win matches and freshness becomes a huge consideration for how we want to play.
“As the body degenerates it becomes very difficult to still perform every three days at the highest level. It is a very delicate one but we are dealing with it with a lot of transparency because that’s how Hlompho has been.
What happens now?
“He has served the club with distinction and it is important that we deal with his unhappiness delicately. It becomes more difficult for us to promise him more minutes this season and that is why we have to look at Hlompho’s situation. But we are looking at it with the respect and the dignity that he deserves as probably one of the most successful captains that Sundowns has had. We have not made a decision yet and it lies at the feet of the club,” said Mokwena.
