Khune needs to realise his time as a player is over – Baloyi

Brian Baloyi says he empathises with Itumeleng Khune as he yearns for another playing contract but has advised the goalkeeper to be “honest with himself”.

Speaking to Sowetan at the annual Gary & Vivienne Player Invitational in Sun City, Baloyi said Khune’s lack of game time and poor fitness over the last few years had made it difficult for him to win another contract at Kaizer Chiefs, who released him at the end of June.

“In the last five years, I think he played less than 50 games. He had fitness challenges, being overweight and all that,” Baloyi said. “I feel for him, he is my boy and I wanted him to go overseas in his prime. But now there are factors working against him. He has to ask himself whether the effort he’s put in the last five years merits another contract. He should say, ‘Have I done enough?’ He should be honest with himself.”

Khune, 37, again confirmed at a media event last week that he’s not officially retired, expressing a desire to play into his forties like some legendary keepers in the world. 

“It’s true that some keepers like Peter Shelton (the Englishman who retired at 47), the great Gigi Buffon (who retired aged 45 last year) and even Andre Arendse played well into their forties. Denis Onyango (of Mamelodi Sundowns) is older (39) than Khune and he’s still playing. But the coaches at Chiefs are under pressure. They can’t take a risk on a player who hasn’t played that much in the last five years. It’s a challenge for Khune because it might mean he has to go to a smaller team and even there, he will have to prove his fitness,” Baloyi said.

Baloyi, the former Sundowns and Chiefs captain, himself retired aged 37 in 2011.

“Accepting that your time is over is not easy. I missed out on selection for the 2010 World Cup and concluded that I had nothing to play for. I made the decision. In SA a lot of players don’t retire out of their own volition. There’s not even an announcement. I can give plenty of examples like Shabba (Siphiwe Tshabalala), Morgan Gould and now Itu. It’s difficult to walk away from the game in your mid-30s when it’s all you’ve known. Sport doesn’t equip players with a good platform to prepare for the end. Counselling is required to make players accept that the curtain has fallen,” Baloyi said.

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