Former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Brian Baloyi has faulted both Itumeleng Khune and Kaizer Chiefs for the way they have conducted themselves regarding the 37-year-old's situation.
Khune was keen on playing until his early 40s, but the Glamour Boys, who are desperate to end their nine-season trophyless run were not ready to grant him the wish. The Soweto Giants wanted to hand the legendary goalkeeper a different role in the club.
From the look of things, the relationship between the two parties is not good, but Baloyi feels it could have been handled better.
Khune should take responsibility, Chiefs as well
“The situation could have been handled better from both ends. Blame must not only go to the club, but it must also go to Khune’s team and him as a person,” Baloyi said as quoted by Times Live.
“After all is said and done, as a man you have to take responsibility and stop with the blame game. I was chatting to friends recently and pointed out to them that in the past five to six years, he’s played less than 50 games.
“Imagine if he had put everything in his life on hold and focused on himself and his career. Six years is about 200 to 250 games and he would be sitting on more than 600 games and no one was going to catch him in the PSL. This is a legacy he could have built for himself, but when he is by himself and reflecting he will say ‘You have done well but you could have done better].
“I am not only saddened by the whole situation, but also disappointed with the club, him and the team managing him because they should have dealt this with much better.”
Retirement is not easy
The 50-year-old further explained why it is tough for an active player to eventually accept that his playing days are over.
“It is not an easy process to retire. I was talking to former rugby and cricket players, and I said retiring is never an easy decision to make. Even people who work in corporate or in government, when the time to retire comes, some suffer from anxiety and depression,” Baloyi continued.
“You find they have to be taken through counseling. You can imagine with sports, a lot of people retire when they are not ready. When the time for retirement comes, you want to play but the club says ‘stop'.
“I was lucky I made the decision on my own and I knew this was going to come. I made sure when I stop it had to be on my terms. A lot of my brothers don’t get that chance,” he concluded.
Khune has since ventured into business.
