Siphesihle Ngobese has revealed what he was once told by his good friend Mbulelo Mabizela about Teko Modise when he was still playing in the professional ranks.
Ngobese – a big fan of Modise at the time, had been thrilled after he had watched 'Dona' in action in one of the games when Mabizela decided to encourage him to focus on his own game instead at Swallows.
Mabizela and Ngobese had known each other from the days of Maritzburg City where they played before their football skills and talent earned them moves to different clubs in the South African topflight.
Ngobese believes that the standard of football in Mzansi has dropped these days and he says more players like Mabizela and Andile Jali are needed to help those around them to be confident and to raise their game.
"I remember this one time I was still playing for Swallows and Mbulelo was at Sundowns and I visited him because we got along very well. Teko was doing really well and on top of his game at the time (at Orlando Pirates). Teko had just played a game the previous day and did very well. As I started the conversation about Teko and praising him for the great game he had, Mbulelo interrupted me to say I should not tell him about Teko but I should talk about myself. He told me that I should tell him about myself and how I was doing because he believed that I was a good player as we had played together before," said Ngobese, speaking to the Siya crew.
"You need those kinds of players in any team to make you believe in yourself. Players like Mbulelo and Andile are good to have in a team because of their arrogance and by arrogance I don't mean it in a bad way but in a professional way. I mean, look at Andile when he walks and you can just tell that the guy believes in himself and no one can tell him otherwise. That kind of attitude can help the players around him to be also confident and to do well," he added.
