Mamelodi Sundowns legend Isaac Shai has commented on the challenges faced by current footballers, including his own son Siyabulela Shai.
Shai Junior has appeared to have struggled to reach his full potential yet in his football career since he was promoted to Sundowns' first team in 2014, following his return from Chippa United where he was on loan.
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The 30-year-old has had spells with Maritzburg United, Black Leopards, Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila and Sekhukhune United among other clubs.
The midfielder is currently with Platinum City Rovers in the Motsepe Foundation Championship where he is aiming to revive his career.
"It's a tough question (on whether Siyabulela is under added pressure being due to being his son) but what I can say is that pressure will always be there and it's not like he can't deal with it. He is big enough to deal with that kind of pressure and maybe at some of the teams he played for they didn't understand him. Maybe in some of the teams he wasn't utilised to the best of his ability, but I am not blaming anyone," said Shai, speaking exclusively to the Siya crew.
"All I can say to him is that he must focus on his journey and travel in the way that I walked mine and it is not easy getting to the top. It's like Kaizer Motaung Junior, Bamuza Sono, Dumisa Ngobe or the late Papi Khomane and for all those players it wasn't easy. They were all the sons of well-known former top footballers or legends and they found themselves having to fill the shoes of their fathers in football. He (Siyabulela) has to be himself and do things his own way. For the teams also, they shouldn't look at him as being my son and start comparing us as that wouldn't be right. They cannot compare us because we played in different generations. I think the challenge with the current generation is mentorship, role models and the environment we live in. I think that is what has affected him to not reach his full potential. There are gadgets and many other things that are distracting modern day footballers, and I don't want to even mention some of the things," he said.
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"As much as the cellphones are good to have, they have also been disruptive in the lives of footballers at times. We used to go long distances whether to school or when sent somewhere by the elders, but today's kids use Uber and things like that," concluded Shai.
