Some 16 years ago, a skinny and remarkably agile goalkeeper by the name of Itumeleng Khune was handed his debut by coach Muhsin Ertugral. In the years since, he has made 345 official appearances for the club's first team. He is now heading towards his 37th birthday and with six months left on what the Naturena-based outfit described as his "one final season". Considering the former Bafana Bafana number one's current internal suspension at the club for his off-field indiscretions, the fear is that it could be an inauspicious winding down of the legend's time at the club. The fairytale of that starry-eyed who failed a trial at Amakhosi as a striker, only to remain behind and be given a chance as a goalkeeper, seems to be heading for its end. It perhaps goes to show that in this game, loyalty is just a seven-letter word and it's all about what you do when handed the jersey and how long you are committed to staying at the top. Recent events suggest the two parties are headed in different directions, with Khune's comments about his future beyond this season providing the clearest indications. It was not scripted to end this way between the legendary layer and a club he has given so much to on the field. In this deep dive into the curious situation, Soccer Laduma looks at the weather-beaten goalkeeper's lack of minutes in recent seasons, his long list of injury problems and asks whether he casts a shadow too wide for any current or replacement net minder to step out of!
The current situation
As it stands today, Itumeleng Khune is suspended by Kaizer Chiefs and has recently been stripped of the captaincy. The club released a statement after reports emerged about the skipper arriving at training under the influence of alcohol. That statement made it clear that "Spider Kid", as he is affectionately known, would not rejoin activities until he had met certain conditions and had completed personal development programmes. With just two matches to be played in the next eight weeks, it could be a while until we see the Ventersdorp-born man in a matchday squad again. Aside from his current reality, there is also a disconnect between how the club and the player see the future. When Amakhosi announced Khune's new contract, they also made it clear it would be his final season as a player before "he transitions into a new coaching and ambassadorial role working with the marketing division at the Club". However, about five weeks ago, the veteran goalkeeper poured water on that sentiment by saying he wasn't ready to entertain notions of retirement! Khune told the media, "The club might have released a statement, which is well respected, but at the end of the day I am competing and I have been playing. It will depend on my performances. There is no difference with me. Whenever I am given an opportunity, I will perform so I can get a new contract. I mentioned at the start of the season that my body can carry me until I am over 40. If Buffon could do it until he is 45, El-Hadary could do it until 44, who am I, at the age of 36, to entertain the fact that someone has an idea that Itumeleng must retire?"
In an interview, marketing manager Jessica Motaung said the suspension was to set the tone for young players and to keep standards high, with squad unity at the forefront. The Soweto giants have repaid some of the efforts of the former Bafana Bafana number one by defending him and saying that whilst he made a mistake, they were helping the player with any troubles he may be having away from the pitch. So, we have a player under a current suspension who may feel he is being forced into retirement before he is ready. We also have someone who earns a large salary but who is not either selected or available all that often…
23% pitch time for 'Itu'
Since starting against Elgeco Plus in December 2018, five years ago, the Glamour Boys have played 195 competitive matches as a club. Khune has played in just 44 of those, an average of about nine matches per calendar year. That means that we only see the legendary net minder on the pitch for 23% of the club's matches, either because he is injured or because the head coach prefers to select other options. There are three factors at play here. Firstly, numerous coaches from Ernst Middendorp to Gavin Hunt to Arthur Zwane and Ntseki have all decided not to select Khune at times when he was available. This is not a once-off preference by a single head coach but a trend over many years. The second factor is that the Naturena-based outfit are paying Khune like an undisputed starter when he is realistically more of a fringe player these days. And the final consideration is the lack of consistency in the poles when the starter 'keeper has the looming presence of Khune in the squad.
Injury hell – 14 years of fitness travails
If we go back all the way to 2009, we can see a long list of injuries suffered by the goalkeeper. This could be for many reasons, from overplaying in his early years, bad luck in suffering contact injuries, weight gain putting strain on his body, or off-field distractions. The fact is that Chiefs have become used to his absence in recent years. In August 2009, he broke a finger and missed months of action. He returned to play in the 2010 World Cup at least. In October, he had a back injury and had to spend time in hospital. There was another groin injury soon afterwards, which led to two months out.
In March 2014, there was an ankle injury, but Khune only missed four games and played through the pain. Unfortunately, that caught up with him as after six months with inflammation in his heel, a stress fracture was discovered and he had to spend six weeks in a moon boot. Even when Amakhosi broke the goals conceded record in the 2014/15 season, it came with Khune playing just 10 league matches. Those injuries saw Shakes Mashaba omit him from Bafana's 2015 Afcon squad. The 2015/16 campaign saw a knee problem that eventually meant surgery was required, which ruled him out for about three months. He returned and was injured right away, twisting an ankle and being unavailable for five fixtures. There were hip and back injuries not long after that. Of course, the fractured face bone sustained in November 2017 was not his fault at all and he proved a warrior to feature with a face mask to help his club and country. Then we had the aforementioned nine-month shoulder injury, during which time Daniel Akpeyi was signed.
The Nigerian eventually became first-choice under Middendorp. Even Khune's return from injury was a slow process and upon his comeback, the 'keeper admitted the reason for the delay, saying, "I'm not ready mentally. I am happy I was given the respect I deserve to say, 'No, coach, mentality I have to train my mind to be strong.' And today you could see I was going into tackles, I was going into everything to test how strong I am mentally. I think now I'm back – mentally, physically and emotionally – so it's time to work!" The injuries have hardly slowed down in recent years and the fact is that Khune doesn't play many matches anymore. That means he may not be considered a large reason for Chiefs' recent problems and their trophy drought. It also means that he isn't pulling his weight when we factor in the huge salary he enjoys.
Bvuma and Petersen need a clearer pathway
Whilst a legend like Khune is at the club, there will never be clarity for Brandon Petersen and Bruce Bvuma over their roles within the squad. Both goalkeepers have had periods of performing to a high level if we think to Bvuma's clean sheet away to Wydad Casablanca in the CAF Champions League as well as Petersen's 10 clean sheets in 21 outings in his first season. The latter was signed on the recommendation of former goalkeeper coach Lee Baxter, but his confidence looks shattered in recent weeks. If, and when, Khune departs, the current two goalkeepers (and any Khune replacement who is signed), will be need a clear path to being the number one 'keeper. It's not healthy to always know that the club's greatest ever goalkeeper is waiting to reclaim what he feels is rightfully his. It's not healthy for someone like Bvuma to now be 28 years old, but to have played a meagre 39 matches for Chiefs. His form in the last two matches alone has shown that a lot of time has been lost where his development and gaining of experience is concerned.
Legend and Supporter Weigh In
What Minnie said really affected Itu! Saddam Maake – Kaizer Chiefs supporter
"People must never forget that Itumeleng Khune is our product. He is our player and a legend. We still need him at Kaizer Chiefs. Now, as the longest-serving member of our current squad and a captain, we were hoping he would spend another two to three seasons at the club and then take up a position in the office or as a goalkeeper coach. He deserves something and I believe he still has a chance to do everything I have mentioned. Chiefs come a long way with Khune and everyone knows that, so I don't see why anyone would turn their backs on him. Everyone makes mistakes, we all know that because no one is perfect, and Khune is no exception. When players have problems, we want them to address them the right way because it is sad when we see people who made us happy going through tough times. Former players like Lerato Chabangu are speaking out about the challenges they faced but failed to handle the right way. It saddens us to see them in that state and we don't want to see history repeating itself. The Khune issue is a family matter that should be handled internally between himself and the club. We still need him at the club and we want to see him back on the field of play. He still has a role to play at the club and what happened was just a mistake. He's not a 'drunken master' or anything like that because we all know his record at the club. He's never been a problematic player and he is not going to start now. I don't want him to be targeted because he just made a mistake.
I'm happy the Chairman (Kaizer Motaung) will be getting involved in solving the problem. As supporters, some things are beyond our control, but if anyone wants to hear what we think, I say we still need Khune at Chiefs. We will respect whatever decision the club take, but we plead with them to take the correct decision, which is to give Khune another chance. If there is a problem, let all the parties involved come together to find a solution. When it comes to game-time, it is all up to Itu himself because I believe he can still do the job for us for another couple of seasons. However, he will have to prove himself because Bruce Bvuma is making a name for himself now and he's clearly tired of playing second fiddle to everyone. I know this whole thing is going to take its toll on him because not everyone bounces back from the stigma attached to stories like we've had about him. However, I remain positive that he will pull through it all. You know, not so long ago, his former girlfriend Minnie Dlamini had negative things to say about Itu and social media went viral. No one knows how much of an impact that has had on Itu and maybe he needs specialist counselling and people who will encourage him to remain focused. I honestly think what Minnie said really affected Itu! They must both move on with their lives. By right, by right, we need Khune and we, as the supporters, love him so much. It is too early to judge him because not enough information has been supplied as to what really happened. We also don't want to see his talent and experience going down the drain. We see him as a legend and feel he should retire at Chiefs and become part of the technical team, if not management."
Itu has never done anything like that Banks Setlhodi – Former Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper
"Before I can say anything or comment on Itumeleng Khune, I want to sit down with and talk to him. A man-to-man conversation, you know. For me to comment now, without having that conversation with him, it would be like stabbing him from behind. I am afraid because these young boys, they don't take things like we used to do back in the day. It is best I talk to him before making any public statements or react to the situation. I know I will eventually get hold of him because he's not miles away from me. The only thing for now is that he doesn't return my calls and I don't know why. Yes, I called him a couple of times already because we had a brief chat about the club, but someone came in and interrupted our conversation, so that was the last time I was with him. Now, I don't want to act like a vulture, no. I want to get the full story from him. As my player, as my product, as a father to him, he has to trust me and I believe he trusts me. I don't want to lose that trust from these young boys because it is not just Itumeleng. There are plenty of them and some of them have retired, but they know I am still there for them. Guys like Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Siphiwe Tshabalala and many others know that. I will never go behind their backs. That's why I believe we don't have to rush this thing. When you rush, you crash! I don't want to end up not being the person Itu thought I am. Do I believe he still has a role to play at Chiefs? Yes, for sure! Itumeleng is an asset at Chiefs and he's a rare talent. Where do you find someone like Khune? In the dressing room, on the field, that man is a leader. Who can tell you about lifting a trophy for Kaizer Chiefs in the current team other than Khune? If you get rid of him, then you don't know your identity. Yes, what he is alleged to have done was wrong, but there has to be an explanation as to why did he do that? For so many years, Itu has never done anything like that at Chiefs and we need to know what really happened."
Has the time come?
Without doubt, Amakhosi have been loyal to Khune. When he played only one match all season under Stuart Baxter in the 2021/22 campaign, they still renewed his contract. Despite all of his injury woes, the club has done 'the right thing' and not released the goalkeeper despite not getting much return on the salary and signing-on bonuses they are dishing out. Then, we have the off-field problems like significant weight gain, speeding offences, videos of him partying and so forth. Chiefs have stuck by him. Even when the veteran campaigner complained that goalkeeper coach Baxter was withholding data on his weight gain, the Soweto giants didn't call out their captain and instead gave him leeway to speak with freedom in the press. However, there is simply not a return on investment for the Glamour Boys right now. The multi-million rand salary earned by Khune is getting Chiefs just a handful of appearances per season on average, whilst a recent win over Cape Town Spurs ended an-eight match personal losing streak for Khune in 2023! Let's hope we see a final farewell appearance at least for the goalkeeper, but then it may be time to move him into an offfield role at Naturena and let the younger guard step forward uninhibited to fight for the jersey which 'Itu' has donned with such distinction.
