For someone who, before joining Marumo Gallants last July, boasted a measly four minutes of Premiership football over the past five seasons, Sibusiso Kumalo has made great strides in trying to get his career back on track.
Kumalo has been used as Gallants’ super-sub lately, coming off the bench to consolidate the engine room whenever the team is in a favourable position in a match. The lad from Katlehong, on the East Rand, has started five of the eight league outings he has been involved in, scoring one goal, this term.
Before coming to Bahlabane Ba Ntwa, Kumalo had never played a league game since managing only four minutes for Mamelodi Sundowns in the 2016/17 season. The following four seasons Sundowns demoted him to the Diski Challenge.
When his Sundowns deal eventually expired in July 2019, he was club-less for 16 months before signing for Equatoguinean outfit Futuro Kings.
Kumalo has maintained that, amid his struggles, he never lost hope that his career would return to the right path again. The 30-year-old does not regret his decision to join Sundowns from Swallows in 2013.
“I always believed my career wasn’t over. I never stopped working hard behind the scenes. I even chose to go to Equatorial Guinea to make sure I remained active. My family also helped me to remain positive. People think I made a mistake by joining Sundowns back then but I don't regret it. Yes, I didn't play there but being there taught me many things,” Kumalo told Sowetan yesterday.
“Being part of the Sundowns structure developed me as a player. Sundowns taught me many things, like keeping it simple on the ball. I still use the teachings I got there even today.”
At Futuro, Kumalo never tasted league action as the season was abandoned due to Covid-19. “In Equatorial Guinea I never played in the league but we played in the [CAF] Confed Cup, where we were knocked out in the second round. However, being there helped me a lot. It afforded me time and space to reflect and plan for my future while it also toughened me mentally,” Kumalo stated.
How Kumalo is reviving his career at Gallants
Four minutes of football but Downs stint was worth it
Image: Samuel Shivambu
For someone who, before joining Marumo Gallants last July, boasted a measly four minutes of Premiership football over the past five seasons, Sibusiso Kumalo has made great strides in trying to get his career back on track.
Kumalo has been used as Gallants’ super-sub lately, coming off the bench to consolidate the engine room whenever the team is in a favourable position in a match. The lad from Katlehong, on the East Rand, has started five of the eight league outings he has been involved in, scoring one goal, this term.
Before coming to Bahlabane Ba Ntwa, Kumalo had never played a league game since managing only four minutes for Mamelodi Sundowns in the 2016/17 season. The following four seasons Sundowns demoted him to the Diski Challenge.
When his Sundowns deal eventually expired in July 2019, he was club-less for 16 months before signing for Equatoguinean outfit Futuro Kings.
Kumalo has maintained that, amid his struggles, he never lost hope that his career would return to the right path again. The 30-year-old does not regret his decision to join Sundowns from Swallows in 2013.
“I always believed my career wasn’t over. I never stopped working hard behind the scenes. I even chose to go to Equatorial Guinea to make sure I remained active. My family also helped me to remain positive. People think I made a mistake by joining Sundowns back then but I don't regret it. Yes, I didn't play there but being there taught me many things,” Kumalo told Sowetan yesterday.
“Being part of the Sundowns structure developed me as a player. Sundowns taught me many things, like keeping it simple on the ball. I still use the teachings I got there even today.”
At Futuro, Kumalo never tasted league action as the season was abandoned due to Covid-19. “In Equatorial Guinea I never played in the league but we played in the [CAF] Confed Cup, where we were knocked out in the second round. However, being there helped me a lot. It afforded me time and space to reflect and plan for my future while it also toughened me mentally,” Kumalo stated.
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