Nomandela: Ex-Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder on unfulfilled Kaizer Chiefs dream

Former Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Luyolo Nomandela has explained why he chose the Tshwane giants ahead of their Premier Soccer League rivals, Kaizer Chiefs.

After impressing with Free State Stars between 2012 and 2014, the midfielder joined the Brazilians, then under coach Pitso Mosimane. Although Nomandela said he had a dream to play for Amakhosi, he could not achieve this because the Soweto giants did not show any concrete interest in signing him.

"I always get a lot of people asking me why I chose Sundowns when I left Free State Stars, and I always tell them that as a player you go where you are wanted," Nomandela told Soccer Laduma.

"The fact is that coach Pitso [Mosimane] wanted me, and there was no way that I would have gone to Kaizer Chiefs when the club didn’t say they wanted me. Yes, I had a wish to play for Chiefs, but I wouldn’t have gone there without being asked to come, and I had to go where I was wanted.

"I wanted to play for Chiefs and that was my wish, but I was happy to join Sundowns, which is a club that is at the same level as Chiefs."

Although he struggled for game time with Sundowns - as he was loaned to both Moroka Swallows and Jomo Cosmos - the 32-year-old said he did not regret the move to the Pretoria club at all.

"Look, I don’t regret going to Sundowns because no player wakes up in the morning and just goes to Sundowns," he added.

"I went to the club because coach Pitso wanted me there and had intentions of playing me, but unfortunately, it wasn’t to be due to injuries.

"Sundowns are one of the best teams in South Africa and why would I regret joining such a club? The move was not rushed and didn’t happen overnight, and I was given a chance to think about it before I made my decision.

"Even if I didn’t play that much at Sundowns, I learned so much at the club and I gained a lot of experience. I got to travel with the team to Africa and got to experience a lot of things, and that’s the experience I give back to the younger ones, even if I play in the Vodacom [ABC Motsepe] League."

Nomandela had stints with Cape Town City and Chippa United too.