Kaizer Chiefs new signing Sibongiseni Mthethwa's style of play and work rate has been compared to that of French superstar N'Golo Kante and the two players share a similar story of a rapid rise to the top.
Before playing for the first time in French Ligue 1 in 2014, Kante was completely unknown three years prior, as he turned out for sixth division side Boulogne B side, where he was not even a professional and soccer was not his main career.
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However, the former Chelsea midfield workhorse helped Boulogne to move up the divisions in the French league and was signed by SM Caen in 2013, who were campaigning in the second-tier.
Kante was part of the team that helped Caen gain promotion to Ligue 1 a year later and after just one season in the top flight, he was signed by Leicester City in 2015, where he made a name for himself, as a vital cog of a side that shockingly won the Premier League title in his debut season and was eventually snapped up by Chelsea.
Mthethwa, whose style of play and charisma on the field as a box-to-box midfielder has been compared to Kante, had a similar meteoric rise to the top of South African football, where he was not playing professional football four years ago despite his current age of 29.
"Ox" does not come from any background of academy football and was not affiliated to any youth team linked with professional teams before he was scouted and joined Royal AM in 2019 (who were in the Motsepe Foundation Championship and known as Royal Eagles) at the age of 25.
Mthethwa had his first taste of Premiership football in 2020 for Black Leopards and after their relegation in his debut season, he was eventually signed by Stellenbosch in January 2022.
After a further one season-and-half, "Ox" was signed by one of the biggest teams in the country, Amakhosi recently and within just two games at the Glamour Boys, finds himself in the Bafana Bafana squad that is preparing for the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers and the Africa Cup of Nations (in January next year).
"It is an honour, it's a motivation to me, it keeps me moving, pushing me to work even more harder, because I didn't expect this to happen, I won't lie," Mthethwa said on Lorenz Kohler's YouTube Channel.
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"In the space of three years I played for four teams (three, excluding Chiefs) and now I'm playing for the big team, so for me it's an honour to join Chiefs I won't lie. There's a lot of talent in rural areas. There are so many talented players more than us, the only thing I had was the heart, that's the difference between me and other players. I always work hard," he said.
Mthethwa was initially the only player from Amakhosi who made the 23-man Bafana squad recently but was soon joined by Mduduzi Mdantsane, who was a late replacement for Al Ahly forward Percy Tau. The 29-year-old Ox featured in the two friendly matches drawn against Eswatini and Cote d'Ivoire.
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