Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Teko Modise says talk of him being a trophy jinx doesn’t bother him at all.
For years now, the 31-year-old has had to contend with suggestions that he brings some bad luck to clubs he plays for with SuperSport United and Orlando Pirates having failed to win anything when Modise was there, but bringing home silverware when he had left.
And with Sundowns on the verge of winning the League, the jinx claims have once again surfaced but Modise insists he won’t be discouraged ahead of tonight’s clash against SuperSport at Loftus Stadium.
“I have been in unfortunate situations in the past and it is something that I can’t control. The same goes for the game against SuperSport United, because I don’t even know what’s going to happen,” he says.
“But I’m not going to focus on anything beyond the field of play and I will just do my best as a footballer.”
Modise, though, acknowledges that despite his individual accolades over the years he does feel ‘empty’ without a team trophy and with that in mind, he is going all out to help Sundowns bring home silverware for the first time since 2008.
“My ambition has always been the same and it has always been clear from when I started playing football. It has always been to win something with the team and individually, and I’m glad that I had an opportunity to win so many things individually.
“But it comes to a point where it feels empty when you don’t win with the team. I had an opportunity at Pirates to win with the team and it didn’t happen because we didn’t get the six goals against AmaZulu in the last game of the season losing the League on goal difference in 2009. It was painful after the game knowing the fact that we were so close, but I have another opportunity now. In football, there are other people who are lucky. They play half a season and win the League, that’s how football is.
“I’m just grateful that the experiences I had made me the person that I am today,” Modise concludes.
