Kaizer Chiefs legend Itumeleng Khune insists former South Africa international Siphiwe Tshabalala is the best player he has ever played with.
The duo played for the Glamour Boys together between 2007 and 2018, while forming an integral part of Bafana Bafana as well before Tshabalala retired, leaving Khune in action until the end of the 2023/24 campaign when Amakhosi opted against extending his stay.
The 37-year-old recalls the impact his former teammate used to make in games, regardless of the magnitude.
According to Khune, Tshabalala was committed to the point that he could take matters into his own hands when the strikers failed to do their work.
‘Tshabalala wasn't a striker but was something special'
“Siphiwe Tshabalala… not because he was my teammate at club and national level. Siphiwe was a phenomenal player. You could always count on him when chips were down for either Chiefs or Bafana. I knew that Siphiwe will make a plan. He used to carry the club, and I’m honoured and privileged to have shared the field with him,” he told iDiski Times.
“And even last week, I was doing a Dream Drive shoot with him and Happy Jele for the Derby Kings and I looked at him and I kept on asking myself, you know, this short guy with dreadlocks is the one who used to give players problems. He used to have about five, six defenders marking him, but he will leave them for dead and hit the back of the net.
“He wasn’t a striker. He was a midfielder, but I knew as soon as I gave him the ball, he’d taking them on. You can go back and watch all his goals, and you will see he was something special,” Khune concluded.
