Kekana: I played my best at Celtic after turning down Pirates, Chiefs!

Kekana left Mamelodi Sundowns last year after a decade with the powerhouse club. The 36-year-old midfielder is currently a free agent.

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Despite having signed a four-year contract extension a year before his departure, Kekana has shared with GOAL exactly why he could no longer remain with the club in good conscience, while he has also spoken about why he decided to join Celtic ahead of the 2010/11 season at a time when Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates interested in his services.

“I enjoyed playing my football at Celtic. I think I played my best football there,” Kekana said. 

“My best days were when played on Sundays at Seisa Ramabodu. Oh wow! That stadium has always been the for me. The people of Bloemfontein would be at the stadium by 11:00 am in the morning waiting for our games. Playing for Bloem Celtic was the best decision I have ever made.”

Back then, Kekana would go on to be named Celtic’s Player of the Season and also earned his first Bafana Bafana call-up at the time.

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Previously, Kekana has revealed why he opted against the possibility of joining Chiefs or Pirates.

“At the time, I made the decision based on the age. I know everyone wanted to play for the two teams, but I was still not mature enough to deal with the pressure that comes with playing for these two teams,” Kekana told GOAL. 

“I’m a player that wants to win trophies, a player that wants to win matches. Both Chiefs and Pirates were doing very well at the time. I love seeing myself play matches. I’ve always been my own biggest fan.

“When I wanted to leave SuperSport or when the situation was allowing me to do so and considering my form at that time everybody thought I’d join one of the Soweto giants and they were shocked to hear that I wanted to join Bloemfontein Celtic,” he continued.

“I just wanted to play football and I didn’t want to find myself competing with the best players in the league. I was 23 years old, and I still wanted to develop myself,” he added.

“I felt I can’t go to a bigger team and fight for game time. There’s little room for errors in big teams and I still wanted to learn more about the game.” 

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KEKANA PLAYED OVER 350 MATCHES FOR SUNDOWNS

Reigning DStv Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns announced in early November that they had come to an amicable agreement with Kekana.

The veteran midfielder departed Chloorkop as the club’s most decorated captain having made more than 350 appearances across all competitions for the Brazilians. He has been linked with a host of different clubs since then.