There are many football careers that end way before their time. And, unfortunately, a lot of the downfalls are orchestrated by footballers themselves.
In South Africa, there's a long list of footballers who didn't reach their potential.
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Along the way, however, there are some who turned things around. These are the players who got a wake up call and realised that nothing changes if nothing changes.
Take Keletso Makgalwa, for example. Here's a man who came through the system at Mamelodi Sundowns and was destined for greatness. Well, so it seemed. The 28-year-old came through the system at Sundowns when he was promoted by former coach Pitso Mosimane in 2017, and there was a feeling that he could follow in the footsteps of Percy Tau because of his promising start in the first team. But things changed.
Loan spells at Maritzburg United and TS Galaxy were cut short by the clubs, and there was no success during his short-term stints at Moroka Swallows and All Stars. It looked to be heading downhill until a move to Upington City in 2023 flipped the script.
He was one of their top performers last season in the Motsepe Foundation Championship and, naturally, he caught the attention of top flight clubs. Sekhukhune ended up signing him before the start of this season. But, he would not have been here were it not for a shift in mentality
Now in the colours of Sekhukhune United, the man nicknamed 'Aguero' is in the form of his life, playing a crucial role in Babina Noko's quest to qualify for continental football again. Makgalwa has five goals and seven assists in all competitions for Babina Noko.
A man who has played a key role in Makgalwa's career is Upington City chairman David Mogashoa. He first had Makgalwa on board while he was chairman at Moroka Swallows and again in Upington, where things took a turn for the better.
"He came to us (at Swallows) on loan from Sundowns. By then, he was still growing because he had that thing of 'I am on loan and I am a Sundowns player'. That played a part on him not growing because he always told himself that he would default to Sundowns. I think a big wake up call was when they (Sundowns) sent him to train with M-Tigers. What disturbed me was that he was there and nothing was happening," Mogashoa said to the Siya crew.
"I got worried because I knew what he was capable of. I then made a call to him to ask what was going on. I told him to go play at Upington to get his confidence back and to show the world what he is capable of. Because of the relationship we have, he agreed. That's when he realised that he had to work hard and go back to the Premiership. He did and look at what he is doing now."
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Siyanda Zwane, a former Sundowns right back, gave credit to Makgalwa for not giving up on his career.
"Keletso is my boy. We all saw the best of him when Pitso was at Sundowns. I was amazed by his talent the first time I saw him. I am very happy to see him doing what he does best. Right now, he is the go-to man for them. I think at some point in life you need to trip a bit so that you can realise you need to back your talent up with hard work and discipline," Zwane said.
"When it comes to football, we are all taught how to get to the PSL, but we are not taught how to stay there. It takes a lot of discipline, dedication and consistency. You need to be able to kill the noise when people tell you that you are a good player. When you are told you are good player, it's only normal to live in that space. If he had the mentality of working harder, he would be far. Kudos to him for not giving up. Some players are not mentally strong to come back the way that he has. It's commendable."
The comeback will have another opportunity to terrorise opponents when Sekhukhune visit Chippa United at Buffalo City Stadium on Saturday.
