The last instalment of the Nedbank Reality Football series featured Kaizer Chiefs legend Reneilwe ‘Yeye’ Letsholonyane, who sat with Brian Mathe where they discussed Yeye’s tenure at Amakhosi, his foundation, his defining moments and the money choices he made during his football career.
Brian kicked off the discussion by taking Yeye back to when he was playing for Jomo Cosmos, which he refers to as ‘the university of footballers. Agreeing, Letsholonyane responded: ‘When I was at Cosmos, I was a typical attacking midfielder, only thinking about going forward and what happens at the back [defence]. I didn’t really care much [about] – my responsibility was to be creative and score goals. When I realised I wasn’t going to achieve anything by boxing myself, I wanted to be different by improving my defensive game and being good at both [attack and defence]. My vision was to play two seasons at Cosmos and move to a bigger team.’
When speaking to his goals that he wanted to achieve, he said: ‘The first was to turn professional; second was to play for Kaizer Chiefs; third was to wear the Bafana Bafana jersey and lastly to start a game in the [2010 FIFA] World Cup.’
Becoming a professional sportsman comes with many sacrifices, especially when wanting to play for a big club like Kaizer Chiefs and the preparation that goes into that, he explained. ‘It goes back to before I turned professional. I used to train alone every morning and after school. When my friends would do other things, I would take my training items and go to the field. It was part of me, wanting this thing and wanting it bad, and I would not allow anyone or anything to stop me from achieving it’.
Reflecting on his time playing for his dream club, Kaizer Chiefs, he said: ‘When you get there you have to work hard, especially coming from Jomo Cosmos. You’re unknown, playing the same position as top players. My motivation was I want to be here, I want to be among the starting 11. It was difficult; because you’re new, you are fighting for a position with players who are fan favourites, and the team loves them. This makes you question if you’ve made the right decision to join this club, are you ever going to play? Are you going to be successful? But I was like, this is your dream, this is entertainment, and you can never entertain if you don’t enjoy yourself.’
On his better money choices and making enough money to be tempted to do not spend it wisely, he went on to say, ‘I took my signing fee [at Kaizer Chiefs] and I extended our family house. When I was done and we felt we were now comfortable, that’s when I decided I could go and buy my own a house.’
Catch Reneilwe Letsholonyane’s tell-all interview at moneyedge.co.za and don’t miss out on previous and upcoming episodes with the greatest of local football, including Doctor Khumalo, Jerry Sikhosana, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Teko Modise and Mark Williams.