PSL @ 30 | Mpondo: I would have gone to Barcelona
by Sipho Mlotha · KickOffWith the Premier Soccer League turning 30 this season, Moroka Swallows and South African football legend Andries ‘Chaka-Chaka’ Mpondo has revealed how it felt to retire on the eve of the new era in 1996.
Mpondo says he would definitely have played in one of the top leagues in the world if had he had the opportunity to play in the PSL era.
READ | Tsichlas: PSL was much better 30 years ago
He was a defining face at Swallows in the ’80s to mid-1990s, making almost 400 appearances for The Birds, up until he called it a day at the age of 33.
"I retired in 1996, just before the 1996/97 season. It hurt to miss out just like that, but I quickly accepted that no player is immortal," said Mpondo, in conversation with KickOff this week.
"[Sello] ‘Chicco’ Twala and Mike Mangena had just taken over Swallows, and my body was already tired. The knee injury would just not heal. So, I don't have regrets because I was told to stop; [no], it was time I made way for the next generation of players.
"If I did get a chance to play during the PSL era, I would have moved overseas. The PSL era opened a lot of doors for South African players. This is the era where even Bafana Bafana started to compete seriously. It all started in 1996.
READ | PSL TURNS 30 | The year 1996 and day one of the PSL
"I would have gone on to play for the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, or in the English Premier League. During our time, it was still the apartheid era. To play abroad, you had to sneak out of the country.
"My only wish is for the PSL to have 20 teams. But as for the standard of the league, I'm very happy. I'm sure we are one of the top four leagues [in Africa]," adds the senior citizens who wowed the Swallows faithful in his heyday.