FCSB defender Siyabonga Ngezana admits leaving Kaizer Chiefs without winning a trophy leaves him with a hole in his heart after all the club did to develop him as a footballer.
Ngezana left Chiefs in the off-season in a surprise move to Superliga giants FCSB for a fee in the region of €600,000 and after an indifferent start to life in Romania, he’s beginning to flourish within his new surroundings.
The Chiefs youth product endured a love-hate relationship with the club’s fans due to, by his own admission, being susceptible to the odd mistake in defence and he stated he always gave his best for the club – but it wasn’t good enough.
When speaking about the pressure of playing at Amakhosi, compared to his new club, in Edition 138 of iDiski Times, Ngezana said it was important not to live in his mind when criticism and pressure were rife during the trophy drought he was part of.
“In Chiefs, you know… To play for Chiefs it’s pressure, but the thing I had to learn is not to add more pressure on myself. I understood the culture and needs of the team, everyone knows Chiefs is a team of trophies, with a very rich history,” Ngezana said.
“Coming from development helped me a lot because I know the expectations and responsibility to play for a big team. It was a dream come true to play for Chiefs.
“It was an achievement, in terms of my career it was challenging because of working with different coaches, and different styles of play, that was a bit challenging. I tried my best but it wasn’t good enough, you know…
“I didn’t win a trophy at Chiefs and that leaves me with a hole – I wanted to bring something to Chiefs because they did a lot for me as a player from a young age to who I am now.
“If it wasn’t for Chiefs I wouldn’t be where I am today, in Europe and everyone talking about Ngezana. Nobody would know Ngezana. So I’m grateful for the opportunity they gave me, it’s made me to be who I am today.”
Ngezana has been named in the 50-man preliminary Bafana Bafana squad named by Hugo Broos ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
You can read the full interview with Ngezana in the latest edition below:
