Former Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns attacker Lebohang Mokoena has revealed the one big regret he has from his playing career following his official retirement from the game.
Before announcing his retirement this week, Mokoena had gone over a year without a club and has now made it official by confirming that he has hung up his boots. He had a great career in the PSL, playing for Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns, Ajax Cape Town, Maccabi and Moroka Swallows, but he still can't get over the fact that he missed out on more than one opportunity to play abroad.
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"The only thing was for me to leave the country and go play overseas. I was just hard done by and I guess that's something I will have to live with. When the opportunities were there, I was not given the platform to go and play abroad. That was one of my wishes growing up as a youngster. The opportunities did come, but it was not in my hands. That's something that could have happened, but I did not have the power to make it happen," Mokoena said to the Siya crew.
"The first was Al Ahly. I understood that one because I was only 15 at the time and my mom did not want me to leave as early as that. I had to finish school first. I had the opportunity to join Benfica and that did not materialise without me not knowing what happened. There was also Deportivo, Auxerre and Strasbourg. Strasbourg ended up signing Katlego Mphela. They wanted to sign me and Katlego at that time. My club failed me at that time. When I look back, the Spanish league is where I wanted to play and I feel like I would have also fitted in the French league. That was my ambition."
The 38-year-old Mokoena, who won the Premiership title with Sundowns under Pitso Mosimane, already has plans for life after football, so there is little chance he will be idling.
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"Now, life continues. I am rewiring back into the space of football. There is a lot that can be done in this game. Obviously, it's about giving back. I am coaching the under-12s at Eastleigh Primary. I work with the Zodwa Khoza Foundation just to try to give back for what she did for me when I was a youngster at Pirates. She was a mom to me and we are just trying to keep her legacy going. We do talks and go to rehabilitation centres.
"Also, we are busy trying to get the Lebohang Mokoena Foundation up and running as well. There is my brand, C23. I have had that since 2007, but due to my playing days, I did not have enough time to work on the brand and it's doing pretty well. I am also part of the ambassadors for Betway and I am doing Soccerbeat where we discuss football matters."
He explained why he decided to bring an end to his career, taking over a year to officially announce it.
"It's been a long time in the back of my head, but I was waiting to see if there was anyone who wanted my help. Once that died down a bit, I decided it's time. But after the passing of my wife (last year), I had actually decided there is no going back because I have the kids and they are very young and with football you travel a lot."
