So much has been said about one of South Africa's most glittering footballers Daine Klate and the stellar career that he has enjoyed. Perhaps the only blotch being that a European move never materialized for him. The former Orlando Pirates man opened up about what could have been.
Six league titles, three MTN8 trophies, two Telkom Knockout titles and three Nedbank Cups. That is testimony to the mammoth success the Port Elizabeth star enjoyed in a career that spanned over 15 years.
The fact that he was snubbed from the final 23-man 2010 FIFA World Cup squad, despite being named Player of the Season, caused somewhat of an outrage across the country, with many feeling that 'Klatey' could have contributed to Bafana's underwhelming tournament.
Perhaps another blemish for the ex-SuperSport United star was the fact that a European move never materialized, although he trained with Dutch giants Feyernoord as well as Racing Strasbourg in France, who had another South African – Katlego Mphela, on their books at the time.
Opening up to former national team teammate Kagisho Dikgacoi on Instagram live, the 35-year-old admits his desire to have played abroad, but revealed he has no regrets.
"I was fortunate enough at the beginning of my SuperSport career that I went to Feyernoord, where I had an assessment but it was more of an arranged thing, rather than me being invited by the club, that was the difference.
"I went to Strasbourg in France, where Mphela was part of the team, I thought that would have been ideal for me because I went to a UEFA Cup (now Europa League) game where they played against a team from Norway. I sat there and I thought to myself 'I can definitey play at this level,' but it never materialized. I would have loved to but you know everything happens for a reason. Maybe in another lifetime I'll get the opportunity but I'm pretty content with the way things ended up for me," Klate said.
