When Morgan Gould arrived at Naturena back in 2012, he was destined to be the man studying up the backline and leading Kaizer Chiefs to greatness.
Following in his father's footsteps across to Soweto, and on the back of a title winning season with SuperSport United, it almost seemed like destiny when the towering centre back arrived at the Village.
However, after just three years in the gold and black kit, which cost the club R5.4m for his signature, Gould's story hasn't been the fairytale it was expected to be.
This is what we call 'The Curse Of Morgan Gould'.
Upon reflecting on his career at Naturena, and even before that, the 31-year-old has been blighted with injury and bad luck.
He has never quite been able to live up to the hype that was expected of him… Not because his form had dropped, but rather his curse got the better, or should I say, worse of him.
Missing the 2010 World Cup
Gould's bad luck first struck when he was expected to turn out for Bafana Bafana in the 2010 World Cup. As the host nation, the then 26-year-old was hoping to showcase his worth when pulling on the national team colours…
That didn't happen as an ankle injury in March that year kept him sidelined for less than two months, preventing him from returning back to full fitness in time for the tournament.
Missing the 2013 AFCON
After overcoming the ankle injury, Gould became an integral part of the national team set-up leading up to the AFCON. After making a big money move to Chiefs, he was expecting to forge himself as a starting during the tournament, however, his jinx struck again.
An Achilles heel break in August 2012, just five months before the 2013 African Cup of Nations, meant that the six to eight month lay-off was to rule him out of yet another tournament.
Now, in his three years spent with Amakhosi, Gould has only managed 29 starts and only seven of those have come this season. This is due to a combination of Gould's bad luck and the rise of Tefu Mashamaite…
It's quite sad how unlucky this talented player has been. Come to think of it, Italy legend, Alessandro Nesta, shares a similar story… Such a pity...
What do you think about this?
