Posted in News, Team News on Mar 09, 2017.
Dladla, who played for Kaizer Chiefs from 2009 until 2015, formed part of the team that lost 4-3 to then first division side Pretoria University in the Nedbank Last 16 in March 2009.
Tuks put up a magnificent fight, winning the game 4-3.
At half-time, it still all looked to go Chiefs’ way at Atteridgeville’s Super Stadium, leading 2-1 thanks to goals from Dladla and José Torrealba.
However, it all went wrong in the second half, eventually losing 4-3. We will always remember how Jimmy Tau thought he had heard a whistle and stopped playing - it turned out not to be the referee’s whistle. As a result, Tuks went on to score a late winner.
“Playing against first division teams is not always easy,” acknowledges Dladla. “The opponent will go at 120 percent, while some players of big teams have a habit of taking it a bit easy. That’s not good and a coach will always warn about it, but it happens. It’s only human.”
The midfielder left Chiefs at the end of the 2014/2015 season and went on to play for Moroka Swallows. He presently works at times as a soccer analyst for SABC Topsport. Otherwise, Dladla is taking a bit of a break at the moment, “I want to take some time before deciding on what to do next now that my playing days are over”.
About his time as a Glamour Boys, he reflects: “I was for seven seasons at Kaizer Chiefs. That that creates a bond which will never fade away. Once you are part of the Amakhosi Family, you will always be part of the Family.”
Back to the Tuks game. “It’s like a university professor talking to a student,” Dladla explains the risk of underestimating any opponent. “He has so much more knowledge that he might take a debate with a student too lightly. The same happens in soccer. A player who has played 200 premiership matches will think about a first division team, ‘these youngsters have barely played thirty professional games, we will win this’. And that’s where the danger comes in.”
About Chiefs’ clash on Saturday against Stellenbosch, Dladla says: “It’s a cup game, so you are in or out. It’s all about how much you want it as a team. The guys have to be positive and approach the match as a collective, pushing their teammates who might not be 100 percent focussed on the Stellenbosch fixture.”