Football
Former Kaizer Chiefs star Michael Nkambule on the advice he would give South African youngsters about European football
Former Kaizer Chiefs star Michael Nkambule shares invaluable advice for young South African footballers eyeing European opportunities.
Image Credits: SNL24
Former Kaizer Chiefs winger Michael Nkambule has given priceless advice to Premier Soccer League aspiring players and revealed who caught his eye in the 2023/24 season.
There were a lot of young players who grabbed headlines for all the right reasons last season. This includes Orlando Pirates starlet Relebohile Mofokeng, SuperSport United's Shandre Campbell, and Devin Titus of Stellenbosch FC, just to mention a few.
Nkambule believes that the aforementioned players amongst many other talented South African youngsters, could become top players in big different leagues in Europe.
"More especially when you are young, you have to adapt to a lot of things there, that side they take everything serious hence there is too much pressure.
Michael Nkambule
How to make it in Europe
Nkambule has experience and the feeling of playing abroad as he once had a brief stint at Racing Strasbourg B in France during his heyday time almost two decades ago.
Recently, one of the exciting South African football prospects, Campbell, completed his stirring move to Belgian side Club Brugge from Matsatsantsa senior side.
The 18-year-old joined Brugge for an undisclosed fee, and he signed a three-year deal - where he will spend time with the club's second team.
Meanwhile, Mofokeng has been heavily linked with a move to Glasgow Rangers from Scotland and Austria's Red Bull Salzburg ahead of the new season.
Asked for some advice for the youngsters who still have a great chance of moving abroad, Nkambule said that only commitment, professionalism, and patience will ensure a successful career overseas.
"Firstly, European football is very different compared to South African football, and with Campbell having moved to Belgium, he must know and others who will go there should also know," Nkambule told SportsBoom.com.
"They use a lot of money in the development structures so players like Campbell should know that he will be competing with other quality players.
"They polish you and you have to be patient with everything. Like Percy Tau, he eventually went to the English Premier League after being patient for too long.
"When they put you on the bench, you must understand and trust the process. You must not be frustrated, that's how you can make it overseas."
Image Credits: Sowetan Live
Who impressed Nkambule last season in the PSL?
The former South Africa under-23-star Nkambule has showered praise on a few Betway Premierships (formerly known as the DStv Premiership) in the 2023/24 campaign.
"To be honest, the SuperSport United young player, Campbell, that boy, and Mofokeng of Pirates stood out for me last season," he said.
"More especially Mofokeng, playing for a big team and you perform in that way, we must give credit to him, he was impressive.
"Yes, I saw a few young players doing well in the past season and they are likely to go play abroad, which will help our teams in terms of finance.
"Players like Titus and Adams from Stellenbosch FC, I can name many, but yeah, these young players are exciting to watch."
Chiefs’ fans need to give Nasreddine Nabi a chance
On the other hand, the PSL giants Kaizer Chiefs welcomed their new head coach Mohamed Nasreddine Nabi early this month.
Nkambule has made a plea to the club’s supporters - begging fans to be patient with the Tunisian gaffer as he is still trying to build his squad.
"I think in the Chiefs situation, the new coach must be given a chance to prove himself," said the retired dribbling wizard.
"Everyone deserves a chance. We can't say whether he is good or not while he has just arrived. So, I urge supporters to give him a chance.”
"We all know his record. He did well in his previous teams but at Chiefs there is too much pressure if he's given a chance, maybe he will bring something different."
A natural sersitile soccer player who had a dream of turning out for Kaizer Chiefs, but ended up being a sports journalist. I fell in love with writing about football during my university studies in 2018.