When Lucky Lekgwathi retired last week, the former Orlando Pirates captain officially handed over the crown to Bidvest Wits goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs as the longest serving player in the PSL.
Josephs heads a sizeable list of the premier division's madalas, his longevity in the game coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the formation of the PSL in 1996/97.
Wits have also registered Dillon Sheppard, and the midfielder follows Josephs as the only other player who featured in the PSL before the turn of the century.
About two years ago Josephs made his 400th PSL start and at 36, "Slim Kat" is showing no signs of slowing down.
"At the beginning of my career I thought it was all just about the football.
"Then I realised that, 'No man, this career is not going to last forever and let me put in some effort'," said Josephs, who made his PSL debut for Cape Town Spurs in September 1997.
"I had a lot of guys who guided me. At Cape Town Spurs I had Manny Rodrigues, Michael Jacobs, Epangala Lokose and Moomba Ng'andu.
"Then moving to Ajax Cape Town we had a different set of senior players," Josephs said yesterday.
Besides discipline, the former Bafana goalkeeper has attributed his rise to religion, family and never resting on his laurels.
"When you have children, you settle and you don't get sucked into the outdoor life. If you look at today, most of our footballers are Instagram footballers. Everything you do must be on Instagram. No, no, put in the work where it counts and that's on the field there."
Daine Klate, who is Josephs's teammate and close friend, says nurturing your talent and having the right attitude determines how far a player goes.
"I have been at stable clubs and that has played an important part. You should look after what you have, because you don't want to end up begging for a trial like players are doing now," said Klate, who is in his 13th PSL season.
The 31-year-old used to polish soccer boots for the senior players at SuperSport United like Peter Khoabane and Themba Mnguni when he started out in 2003/04.
"They didn't make me do it, but before training they used to throw their boots there and the polish will be there. They would say, 'Daine, can you please help us?' and I will polish the boots.
"It teaches you discipline, but you don't find that anymore. The youngsters come through now and they think they have made it," Klate lamented.
PSL madalas soldier on
When Lucky Lekgwathi retired last week, the former Orlando Pirates captain officially handed over the crown to Bidvest Wits goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs as the longest serving player in the PSL.
Josephs heads a sizeable list of the premier division's madalas, his longevity in the game coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the formation of the PSL in 1996/97.
Wits have also registered Dillon Sheppard, and the midfielder follows Josephs as the only other player who featured in the PSL before the turn of the century.
About two years ago Josephs made his 400th PSL start and at 36, "Slim Kat" is showing no signs of slowing down.
"At the beginning of my career I thought it was all just about the football.
"Then I realised that, 'No man, this career is not going to last forever and let me put in some effort'," said Josephs, who made his PSL debut for Cape Town Spurs in September 1997.
"I had a lot of guys who guided me. At Cape Town Spurs I had Manny Rodrigues, Michael Jacobs, Epangala Lokose and Moomba Ng'andu.
"Then moving to Ajax Cape Town we had a different set of senior players," Josephs said yesterday.
Besides discipline, the former Bafana goalkeeper has attributed his rise to religion, family and never resting on his laurels.
"When you have children, you settle and you don't get sucked into the outdoor life. If you look at today, most of our footballers are Instagram footballers. Everything you do must be on Instagram. No, no, put in the work where it counts and that's on the field there."
Daine Klate, who is Josephs's teammate and close friend, says nurturing your talent and having the right attitude determines how far a player goes.
"I have been at stable clubs and that has played an important part. You should look after what you have, because you don't want to end up begging for a trial like players are doing now," said Klate, who is in his 13th PSL season.
The 31-year-old used to polish soccer boots for the senior players at SuperSport United like Peter Khoabane and Themba Mnguni when he started out in 2003/04.
"They didn't make me do it, but before training they used to throw their boots there and the polish will be there. They would say, 'Daine, can you please help us?' and I will polish the boots.
"It teaches you discipline, but you don't find that anymore. The youngsters come through now and they think they have made it," Klate lamented.
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