February marked one year since Andrea Fileccia terminated his contract with Maritzburg United, and the Belgium-born striker has now opened up on his decision to leave the Team of Choice.
Fileccia spent two-and-a-half seasons with United where he scored 11 goals in 51 appearances, including three in a remarkable Nedbank Cup run in 2018 which saw the club end as runners-up to Free State Stars.
The former Belgium youth international was unable to build on his early successes at the Harry Gwala Stadium, however, and in February last year terminated his contract after falling down the pecking order.
"The new coach [Eric Tinkler] came in and felt I wasn't going to feature much in his plans for the remainder of the season," Fileccia revealed to Soccer Laduma when asked about his decision to leave.
"So I amicably parted ways. I was the top goalscorer of Maritzburg during the 2017/18 season and then things changed for me during the last season of my contract... I guess it's football."
"I'm glad to be back in Belgium this season because I didn't see my family for ten years but I won't lie saying that I'm missing South Africa a lot.
"Football is different that side. It's more tactical but the playing style is not the same. In SA I was used to running up and down with no rest between the runs because it was going quicker.
"Here teams love to have the control of the ball so that you can recover a bit more to be more aggressive when you attack the opponent."
Fileccia, who was previously linked with a move to Cape Town City, insists that he is happy to be close to his family again but that he hasn't closed the door entirely on a possible return to South Africa.
"I'm still in touch with my agent, he is South African and we never know what can happen next season," he shared.
"I wanted to stay close to my family, enjoying football for one season to recover from this 10 years away from them. Now I'm ready for a new challenge.
"My plans are simple. Be happy doing what I'm enjoying. This season we are actually first on the log and are competing to get promoted at the end of the season.
"About next season I won't close any doors about football. I'm actually [also] studying to plan my future after my career as a player. I'd like to stay in the football industry and especially to become a coach."
