Kaizer Chiefs legend Reneilwe Letsholonyane speaks about his exit at Naturena, saying he was in a comfort zone. The celebrated Chiefs legend says he felt he was in a comfort zone at Naturena as he wanted to deliver more goods.
Letsholonyane is currently part of the junior national team side and says his mission was to bring more trophies to Chiefs. Despite feeling he was in a comfort zone, Letsholonyane still sees himself as one of the players who did well for Chiefs.
In his stay at Naturena under coaches such as Stuart Baxter, Letsholonyane mostly partnered with Chiefs legend Siphiwe Tshabalala.
Kaizer Chiefs Legend on Comfort Zone and Regrets at Naturena
The man who also played for AmaZulu and Jomo Cosmos, the Chiefs legend explains why he left Amakhosi. The Amakhosi legend left Chiefs in 2016 for SuperSport United where he added the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup honours to his CV and eventually retired from football in 2021 and took up coaching.
“The last season, I had a knee injury that… at times I didn’t understand, I would go to the doctors do the scan and whatnot, and they would see nothing but I’d still have pain in my knee so it took longer than expected initially,” he explained on the Bettor Podcast.
“I still played a number of games… we went to two finals, MTN8 and Telkom Knockout lost both, it was Steve Komphela’s first season at Chiefs, when the season ended.
“I didn’t think I did justice to the team, I didn’t think I did justice to the coach, justice to a black coach that was given an opportunity – to coach a big team like Chiefs. It was always [the narrative] that foreign coaches are the best coaches, so I felt in disappointed myself, the coach, the supporters. And with self-introspection of what went wrong besides the injuries, I was in a comfort zone and I didn’t like that.”
Kaizer Chiefs Legend on Letting Down Komphela at Chiefs
The Soweto-born Chiefs legend adds that he didn’t do much for Chiefs under coach Steve Komphela. The revered legend feels he let Komphela down, who resigned in April 2018 after their Nedbank Cup semi-final defeat to Free State Stars.
“I felt that I let him down as a senior player [at Chiefs], a person that understands the demographics of our country,” adds the Chiefs legend.
“That understood how difficult it is for a black coach, to coach at that level. Winning one or two of those cup finals would have bought him time – we could have bought him time to stay long. To get to do what he wanted to do, to get in line with the philosophy of the club, get the players he wanted for a longer period.”
Kaizer Chiefs Still Looking for a Coach
Remaining with Chiefs news, this publication reported that as the speculation surrounding Pitso Mosimane’s future continues, it remains to be seen if Amakhosi is also talking to him.
According to Mosimane’s wife and manager, Moira Tlagale, she says they are engaged in talks with different clubs for the coach’s services. Mosimane is currently on a short-term deal in Saudi Arabia with Al Abha FC and his future is a subject of speculation as far as his next employers.
Tlhagale opened up about where Mosimane is likely to end up when his four-month contract expires at the end of the Saudi Pro League season. During a recent event at the Pitso Mosimane Soccer Schools trials in Mamelodi, Tlhagale confirmed that MT Sports has already started talking with interested parties.
