After captaincy issues emerged from Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs camp, former Mamelodi Sundowns skipper Hlompho Kekana has explained what the role is about.
Pirates official captain Innocent Maela has found little game time in the last two seasons, after he was out of the game with a long-term injury.
However, the 32-year-old defender is always given the armband whenever he plays, with question marks arising on whether the Buccaneers should select a different leader.
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Tapelo Xoki regularly wore the armband but after his injury it was passed to Olisa Ndah, who also sustained a long-term injury.
The captaincy of Yusuf Maart at Chiefs has also been questioned, with a section of supporters suggesting that he does not lead by example.
Kekana, who lifted multiple trophies as Sundowns captain, says a skipper should be able to influence his team performance and at the same time sacrifice individual ambitions.
"I never imagined myself as a captain of Sundowns. I was never that personality in my thinking. I thought I was that person who comes to training, have a little jokes and then I go. So I wouldn't spend time with my teammates," Kekana said on Smash Sports YouTube Channel.
"Then being captain of that big team, where there's so many characters. Awkward, was how I was feeling. I'm trying to adjust to a new role, I'm trying to familiarize myself. I'm no longer just Hlompho, there's so many things I need to deal with. I'm still trying to play as a captain.
"I never doubted I would have good games but the challenge is you need to play like a captain. Playing like a captain is the influence [on team performance]. You see a stand that carries a piano? You must be that and everything else, even the things you know you do well, you leave it to Morena [other players], it's no longer about you. I was willing to tone down or limit everything I knew I could [do] as a player, it was difficult," the former SuperSport United and Bloemfontein Celtic midfielder added.
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Kekana is one of the most decorated South African football legends, with eight league titles and a CAF Champions League medal, among his many accolades.
