Kaizer Chiefs new signing Sibongiseni Mthethwa has been likened to French
superstar N’Golo Kante due to his style of play and work rate.
His story is similar to Kante’s, who rose to the top of French football
in a rapid manner. Before playing in Ligue 1 in 2014, Kante was a complete
unknown as he played for a sixth division side, Boulogne B, where he was
not even a professional and soccer was not his main career.
He then helped Boulogne move up the divisions and was signed by SM Caen
in 2013, who were campaigning in the second-tier.
After just one season in the top flight, he was signed by Leicester City
in 2015, where he made a name for himself and was eventually snapped up by
Chelsea.
Mthethwa, whose style of play has been compared to Kante, had a similar
meteoric rise to the top of South African football. He was not playing
professional football four years ago despite his current age of 29.
He was not affiliated to any youth team linked with professional teams
before he was scouted and joined Royal AM in 2019 (who were in the Motsepe
Foundation Championship and known as Royal Eagles) at the age of 25.
Mthethwa had his first taste of Premiership football in 2020 for Black
Leopards and after their relegation in his debut season, he was eventually
signed by Stellenbosch in January 2022.
After a further one season-and-half, he was signed by one of the biggest
teams in the country, Amakhosi recently and within just two games at the
Glamour Boys, finds himself in the Bafana Bafana squad that is preparing
for the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers and the Africa Cup of Nations (in
January next year).
Speaking on Lorenz Kohler’s YouTube Channel, Mthethwa said: “It is an
honour, it’s a motivation to me, it keeps me moving, pushing me to work
even more harder, because I didn’t expect this to happen, I won’t lie. In
the space of three years I played for four teams (three, excluding Chiefs)
and now I’m playing for the big team, so for me it’s an honour to join
Chiefs I won’t lie. There’s a lot of talent in rural areas. There are so
many talented players more than us, the only thing I had was the heart,
that’s the difference between me and other players. I always work hard.”
Mthethwa was initially the only player from Amakhosi who made the 23-man
Bafana squad recently but was soon joined by Mduduzi Mdantsane, who was a
late replacement for Al Ahly forward Percy Tau.
The 29-year-old Ox featured in the two friendly matches drawn against
Eswatini and Cote d’Ivoire.
