Siphiwe Tshabalala has not retired yet and could make a comeback to football very soon.
“Shabba”, as the 2010 World Cup hero is known in football circles, was released by AmaZulu at the end of last season as he didn’t fit in with coach Benni McCarthy’s plans.
The former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder had limited game time at Usuthu.
The club had tried to find him a position elsewhere within the set-up but he declined as it would have limited his time with his own company.
“I think he still wants to play one or two more years. He had planned to retire at AmaZulu but with limited game time, he couldn’t make any memories there. “He has said that he would like to focus more on his businesses but you know players, it is very difficult for them to leave football completely. I have heard of an overseas club that asked about him while he was at AmaZulu,” said a source.
Meanwhile, as reported earlier, Tshabalala is said to have opted to not renew his stay at AmaZulu as he felt he was no longer needed.
A source close to the AmaZulu said Shabba felt he was being overlooked in the team.
“Shabba remained a consummate professional even though he could see that he was not in the plans last season. He kept coming to training early and working as hard as everyone else,” said the source.
“But he was not considered, no matter how hard he tried. I have heard that the coach said he was a bit slow but I can tell you now that is not true. Shabba can still run perfectly well and there were no issues with that. But he has taken it like a professional and conceded that the coaches have their own ideas and decided to not even negotiate for renewal like the club’s management wanted.”
