Elias Ngwepe has gone back into time to tell a story of how he chose Mamelodi Sundowns, even though his agent felt it would have been better to join SuperSport United.
Soccer Laduma spoke to the retired star to talk about the time he spent with Sundowns, where he realised his dream of winning the league title.
The years
I joined in 2006 and I was there until 2008. I had signed a three-year contract. So I spent two seasons with Sundowns and then in my last year, I joined Maritzburg United on loan. But I had a good time at Sundowns and it was a good experience for me. I was fortunate that we had some big players and some guys who had played overseas, like Jorge Acuna and Peter Ndlovu. I could have extended my contract with Bloemfontein Celtic, but there are certain things I wanted to have in my cabinet, which is why I joined Sundowns. I wanted to win the league with Sundowns and that happened. I also won some other cups and I played in the CAF (Champions League) and we played against Barcelona. At Celtic, I was not going to win the league. I am not saying Celtic was a bad team, but when you compare Celtic and Sundowns, there was a huge gap, especially after (Patrice) Motsepe came in. I don't regret joining Sundowns because I was hot at the time. When you join Sundowns, make no mistake that you are going to win the league.
How the move happened
I got a call from Mambush (Daniel Mudau) and he said Motsepe wants to meet me. I was in camp at Celtic and I actually did not want to answer the call because I did not know the number. They told me that they wanted to have me at Sundowns and I thought I was dreaming. As a player, I never thought I would play for Chiefs, Pirates or Sundowns. My agent was Ivica Stankovic and I told him that I received a call from Sundowns. He asked me if I wanted to go to Sundowns and I said 'yes'. At the same time, SuperSport United wanted to sign me. I told Ivica that I want to go to Sundowns, but he wanted me to go to SuperSport. But I didn't think I would win the league at SuperSport. He came with a pre-contract from SuperSport because he wanted me to go to SuperSport. I didn't want to go to a club where my heart was not there.
The rands and cents
The money was good. I was given a signing-on-fee and I was happy with the salary. I was earning less than R10 000 at Celtic and then I got four times that at Sundowns. I did not know too much about money because I am a villager. The money helped me a lot. I did a lot of things with that signing on fee and the salary. I can still point at the things I bought with the money I got at Sundowns.
My first day at Sundowns
I went there and the first player I spoke to was Surprise Moriri. He welcomed me so well. He has such a good heart. We both speak Sepedi, so we had no problem getting to know one another. He told me to play the same football I was playing at Celtic and he told me to feel at home. I didn't struggle to settle in.
The best player I played with at Sundowns
I will be honest. It was Gift Leremi. I even told him how good he was. During small-sided games, I would ask coach Gordon Igesund to pick first. I did not want to play against Leremi, so I would pick him to be in my team. I knew what it was like playing against him because I played against him when I was at Celtic and he was at Pirates. So, I wanted to be in his team at training. He would do amazing things in training. I have never seen a player with the same power with both the right and left foot. He was something else. I could not believe it when I heard that he died.
Most memorable moment
When we won the league. That's what I wanted. I wanted to retire with a league medal. Everything else was a bonus. I went to Sundowns to win the league. There are a lot of players who retired without a league medal. If you want to win the league, go to Sundowns.
Why I left
I wanted to play regularly, so I made a move to Maritzburg United on loan.
