After more than 22 years at Kaizer Chiefs, Itumeleng Khune has played with a few great defenders in his time, but Mzansi's finest recently had the tough task of choosing the seven best defenders he has ever played with.
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Khune's trophy-laden journey with Amakhosi spans over two decades with the 33-year-old being promoted to the first team in 2004, after joining the club as a 12-year-old.
In that time, the man from Ventersdorp earned a reputation for being one of the best goalkeepers the country has ever produced and has gone on to represent Bafana Bafana and Chiefs with aplomb.
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By his own admission, Khune's greatness wasn't all his own doing though. The veteran goalkeeper has selected seven of his best Chiefs defenders who he has played with throughout the years, although he has apologized for omitting certain names.
According to the shot-stopper, singling out defenders who he has played with over the years would prove to be 'difficult', but has credited two veteran Chiefs defenders in Cyril Nzama and Fabian McCarthy, for instilling confidence in him from the time he made his debut as a fresh-faced 18-year-old against Jomo Cosmos way back in 2007.
Another suprise package amongst Khune's best defenders is Ghanaian Jonathan Quartey. The defender spent one season at Chiefs before joining French Ligue 1 side OG Nice a season later.
"That's a difficult one, but I remember there's a lot of great players, a lot of great defenders that I played against or that I played with. The ones that stand out are during my early days when I just got promoted and I started playing regularly, I remember very well it was captain Cyril Nzama, Fabian McCarthy they were such great leaders and they gave me such confidence in my first match against (Jomo) Cosmos at in Durban at the Absa Stadium and they were like "don't be scared, shout at us if you have to" and that is how I became confident and that is how I became a goalkeeper that is vocal and how I can shout at any player that is playing in front of me," Khune said on Vodacom's Ringa Nathi.
Click through the gallery to view Khune's five best Chiefs defenders.
