Kaizer Chiefs coach told Puso Dithejane to hide 'under the bed!' to prevent Mamelodi Sundowns signing the youngster

It is a public secret that Premier Soccer League top sides Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs were in an intense battle to sign Puso Dithejane when he was a teenager.

The Soweto giants won the race when they brought the forward as a 17-year-old to Naturena in 2021 from the Transnet School of Excellence.

Chiefs' tactician, Vela Khumalo, has now described the behind-the-scenes tug-of-war between the Glamour Boys and Downs and the somewhat unorthodox means he used to win the teenager.

“Dithejane, remember Mamelodi Sundowns; they wanted him after seeing him in the national team. He scored the last goal in that under-17 tournament,” Khumalo told KickOff.

“And then Dithejane told me, ‘Coach, I want to play under you.’ And then Sundowns came to where he was playing at the time, at the School of Excellence, looking to sign him.

"That's when he called me on my phone, saying, 'Hey coach, Sundowns are here, and they want to sign me, but I don't want to go there; I want to play under you,'" he added.

“Then I said to him, ‘Hide there.’ Then he said to me, ‘But where can I hide here because they are already here?’ I said, ‘Under the bed, I'm coming.’

“So he hid there until I came to pick him up. That's how he ended up with me at Kaizer Chiefs. It's survival; what else can we do [laughs]?"

Although Amakhosi won the race to sign the promising star, he left without actually breaking into the first team as expected.

When he was asked to explain why he left the Soweto giants, Dithejane expressly said he preferred a move because he refused to be a ball boy.

“Ja, it’s all the truth; I left because I refused to be a ball boy. We had a meeting before leaving," Dithejane opened up.

"We didn’t have a disciplinary hearing. We just had a meeting. Then they told us we must leave. Then we left.  I’m for me now. I can’t say that [I regret leaving], because I’ve improved now, and I’ve added something to my career. So I won’t say that.

"Um, I felt sad, obviously, and I was hoping I could play for Kaizer Chiefs,” Dithejane continued. Maybe, maybe not, maybe I’m going to play there [in the future], but then I’m here at TS Galaxy now, focusing here. 

"But I was hoping to play there, and I was working hard for that spot in the first team."

After falling out with Chiefs, he signed for TS Galaxy in November 2023 and stayed with the club for two seasons.

In the battle between Chiefs and the player, the club was defended by former Amakhosi coach Cavin Johnson, who explained what exactly took place.

"Dithejane did not leave because he was not a good player or [was] a bad player; he left because he didn't do the right thing at the right time," Johnson said.

"It's common sense that regarding the Black Label [Knockout] matches, all the ball boys must be over 18. Those are rules. In South Africa, you must be over 18 to drink, so you can't have a competition with under-18 players advertising liquor.  

"That was the crux of the matter. And Dithejane didn't want to do it. There's a letter at Kaizer Chiefs that he wrote himself, him and [Omega] Mdaka, saying, ‘Hey, you guys, I'm not going to do this; I don't care who is asking. Is it Irvin Khoza? Is it Kaizer Motaung? I don't care'" the coach explained.

"But I think the boy did an interview a few months ago, where he said he apologised to Kaizer [Motaung] Jr and to the chairman [Kaizer Motaung] for what he's done, and it's water under the bridge.  

"So, he has to carry on with his football." I think what should happen now is that Chiefs should speak to Tim Sukazi - he owns the club, and the player has a contract with TS Galaxy. You either talk to the agent or you talk to the owner."

However, the move proved to be a blessing in disguise, as Dithejane went on to become a top player at Galaxy and recently secured a deal that saw him move to the American Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire where he will join up with fellow PSL recruit Mbekezeli Mbokazi.