Former Chippa United striker Lerato Manzini has revealed his big regret of not playing for a Soweto giant, as he officially announced his retirement from professional football.
Manzini was last on the books of Iraqi club Al Qasim in 2023/24 and had spent the last four months focusing on his new love, the Welkom Academy which he founded in January this year.
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“Yes, I’ve officially retired. There are a lot of factors. I had to sit down and think about. I had to really look into what I wanted to do in my next chapter in life. After starting the academy, I realised that I need to sit down and make a decision. I thought that after launching my academy, I would be able to focus on my career again. But I decided to call it quits to focus on my academy,” Manzini said to Soccer Laduma.
“For me, it was an easy decision because I won’t be lost to football. What made it easy for me was the fact that I am working with young kids and I see myself in them. I see that hunger when I started playing football. I feel it’s time for the young ones to come to the scene. I want to do this academy thing so badly.”
Manzini started his professional career at Bloemfontein Celtic and later went on to feature for SuperSport United, Chippa United, Bizana Pondo Chiefs, Free State Stars, Cape Town Spurs and Casric Stars in the domestic game. He does have one regret of not getting to play for a club he grew up supporting.
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“For me, the only thing I regret in my career is never playing for a big team. For me, my favourite club is Kaizer Chiefs. It will always be Kaizer Chiefs. That’s the only club I wanted to play for. Sometimes it was so close, but it never happened. It was supposed to happen, but that’s a story for another day,” Manzini said.
“I appreciate all the teachings I got in my career. I appreciate the ups and downs in football. I came into the game as a kid and today I am man. I will forever be grateful to all the clubs I played for and all the coaches who coached me.”
Manzini is now determined to unearth top talent through his academy.
