Both have starred for Orlando Pirates, won the PSL Player of the Year award, were involved in sensational moves to Mamelodi Sundowns and have faced heavy media scrutiny and it is for that reason that Teko Modise has opened the door for candid conversations with Thembinkosi Lorch.
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Their careers and the trajectory thereof could not have been more similar.
From the tattoos to the style of play and the cult hero status received from their adoring fans, both Lorch and Modise have etched their names in the echelons of local football.
In a recent interview with the Siya crew, 'The Navigator' has opened the floor for talks with 'Nyoso' on the challenges he has faced.
"We had conversations, to be honest," Modise told the Siya crew.
"I think it was just after he won Footballer of the Year, but the conversations were different. The thing is, I've always been vocal about me being open to have conversations with players because we never had that opportunity to speak to the greats that did it before us. And I'm sure that if we had those opportunities, there's certain things we could have avoided. Because I got into the space of not knowing what 'superstar' means, how to carry myself, I didn't know all those things, I've got to learn as I go.
"And the first thing that you do as a footballer is that you are sensitive. You always wanna be praised, you always wanna see yourself in good headlines, once something bad happens, you become closed off. You always isolate. You always want to see the good things. And if I only knew how to react to the bad things at the time, maybe having a conversation with somebody that has been in that space, I'm sure I could have acted a little bit better.
"But right now, that he is at Sundowns, we haven't had that conversation as yet, but I know the similarity that people see. But when the time comes, because the timing needs to be right, and once the timing is right, I'll be glad to be very open like I was before because he reached out to me, I would gladly have that conversation and of course it would be a private conversation. I have a lot of conversations with footballers and for me now it's something that I cherish a lot, because I know how they look at me and the fact that they are able to approach me now, it makes me feel a bit better because I was unapproachable when I was still playing. And I would love to share my story with him.
"And I know that right now he is under a lot of stress because of the competition that he is in, the new club, the adjustment. There's a lot of things happening in his head and once the timing is right, I'm sure that I will have a nice lunch with him and just talk like just to see where his head space is at and, of course, share my knowledge with him," he continued.
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