In his heyday as a striker in the PSL, Sicelo Zuma played for Moroka Swallows and was a thorn in the flesh for defenders with his runs and ability to protect the ball on his feet.
Zuma was a burly forward who had a knack for scoring goals to the delight of German coach Rainer Zobel who believed in his abilities and gave him game time.
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Having also played for the now-defunct Thanda Royal Zulu and in Hong Kong, Zuma is still disappointed at the missed opportunity to play for Kaizer Chiefs when he had a chance to try his luck at the club.
"I was on top of my game at the time and I had the support of everyone to make the move to Chiefs. I had been recommended to the club by the late (Michael) "Bizzah" Dlamini, who was a former Chiefs player himself during his day. My coach at the time at African Wanderers denied me the opportunity, because he wanted me to stay with the club to help the team in the league. I remember the day it happened, we were coming from KwaMashu where we played a friendly game. The possibility of me going to Chiefs had already been discussed that I was the right player to fit the profile of a striker the club was looking for. I had been praying for the deal to happen," said Zuma, speaking exclusively to the Siya crew.
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"One of the organisers of the move gave the coach a call as we were in the bus coming from KwaMashu asking if everything was fine on our side and if I was ready for the trip to Johannesburg for Chiefs. To my shock, and to the shock of the other players in the bus, we heard the coach telling the guy on the other side of the call that I wasn't the same player they thought I was. He was saying that my performances had dropped. I was shocked in hearing that because I had just played well in the friendly. That deal's collapse hurt me, because all I wanted was an opportunity to showcase my talent at a big club. Maybe, it wasn't the right time, but the failed move drained me emotionally," concluded Zuma.
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