Teko on how Siphiwe Mkhonza tried to get him to join Chiefs

Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Teko Modise shared a story on how the late Siphiwe Mkhonza tried to get him to join Kaizer Chiefs.

“Mkhonza, affectionately known as “Dr Mnandi”, battled with kidney infections for a long time. He passed away on Tuesday morning at the age of 44 as reported

Teko, who played with the late Kaizer Chiefs defender at Ria Stars, told Podcast and Chill two years ago.

After being introduced to the national team, Teko said he faced the dilemma of choosing between Kaizer Chiefs and Orland Pirates.

Teko reveals Mkhonza tried to bring him to Chiefs

“I remember when I was still trying to figure out which team to join, or which team to consider rather, coach Pitso[Mosimane] called me. He was like ‘go to Orlando Pirates’ and I was like ‘dude, It’s a done deal between me and Sundowns’.

“He insisted I go to Orlando Pirates and I asked why and he said ‘I know Pirates have a lot of players but none of them players like you’,” Teko told Podcast and Chill.

The ex-Bafana midfielder said he listened to Pitso and joined the Buccaneers.

Modise and Mkhonza played for Ria Stars in the early 2000s

Teko admitted he wanted to join Kaizer Chiefs as he grew up supporting the club.

RIP: Tributes pour in for ex-Chiefs defender Siphiwe Mkhonza

“I waiting for Chiefs, I waited for them to come. I spoke to all the teams[before joining Pirates] and you know what all these teams did? they sent out their officials. Chiefs then sent out a player to actually come to speak to me, I felt disrespected,” Teko said.

Ex-Sundowns attacker Lerato Chabangu ‘used to splash 30k a day’

“They sent Siphiwe Mkhonza at the time because I played with him at Ria Stars, they sent him to actually talk to me. No disrespect to Siphiwe but I felt direspected.”

Teko eventually joined Pirates in 2007 and won back-to-back Footballer of the Year awards.