If new AmaZulu owner Sandile Zungu was looking to make a statement of intent, he certainly achieved that with the signing of former Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana star Siphiwe Tshabalala.
Quite possibly South Africa's most famous player over the past decade on the international stage - in no small part thanks to his opening goal at the 2010 World Cup, AmaZulu fans will be praying he's the catalyst to restore the club to its former glory days.
Questions are being asked about Tshabalala's fitness after an inactive spell of more than a year since he last played in Turkey for BB Erzurumspor in May 2019.
Time will tell if it was the right move to bring a 36-year-old 'Shabba' to the Durban club. Over the years, South African born players returning to the Premier Soccer League (PSL) from Europe have enjoyed mixed levels of success.
Here's a list of five of them, in order of the impact they made back in South Africa.
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Siyabonga Nomvethe
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The former Bafana striker departed Kaizer Chiefs for Italian Serie A side Udinese before going on to play for several other clubs in Italy as well as for Swedish side Djurgarden. He then came home for a brief period to play for Pirates before heading back to Europe after signing for Denmark team Aalborg.
Following that, he joined Moroka Swallows where he had a lucrative five-year stay, nearly helping the Birds win the league title in 2011/ 12 when he netted an impressive 20 Premiership goals. A model professional, he also enjoyed a solid spell at AmaZulu and is still going strong at the age of 42-years-old with second-tier side Uthongathi.
Benni McCarthy
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South Africa's only European Champions League winner and Bafana Bafana's all-time leading scorer, McCarthy was a regular goalscorer in England's Premier League with Blackburn Rovers before he had a short stint with West Ham United and then returned to Mzansi to play for Orlando Pirates in 2011.
He hit the ground running by scoring on debut for Bucs and also netted a brace on the final day of his first season with the club to help them win the league title as well as to clinch a second consecutive treble sweep of trophies. He retired after two years at the club and was an undoubted success.
Bernard Parker
BackpagePixParker only had a short stay in Europe and didn't play much for Dutch side FC Twente although the club did win the league title while he was there. A brief spell at Panserraikos in Greece followed before Parker decided to quit Europe, despite still being in his mid-20's. He returned to the PSL with Kaizer Chiefs. It's worked out pretty well for him; nine seasons later he can count himself as a club legend at Chiefs with two league titles and a handful of cup winners' medals to his credit.
Anele Ngcongca
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Ngcongca enjoys legendary status in Belgium especially with Genk where he played over 200 matches in a nine-year period and won the league title and several cups. The Bafana Bafana right-back had a brief spell in France with Troyes before coming home to play for Mamelodi Sundowns. Injuries, however, curtailed his impact with the Brazilians and he averaged around 10 matches per season for the four years he was in Pretoria. The Cape Town-born defender, 32, is now back in Belgium with lower league side Roeselare.
Mbulelo Mabizela
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No doubt one of South Africa's finest ever defenders. He shot to prominence with a wonder goal for Tottenham Hotspur, but the fame of the Premier League and the high life in London soon led to Mabizela's downfall. The former Orlando Pirates man returned to the PSL when he signed for Mamelodi Sundowns. But he never rediscovered his true form and drifted from club to club, including Chippa United, Black Aces, Platinum Stars, AmaZulu and Royal Eagles before fading into the sunset.
Other players who have enjoyed mixed success after returning from Europe to South Africa include Delron Buckley, Josta Dladla, Steven Pienaar, Shaun Bartlett, Stanton Fredericks, Benedict Vilakazi, Dillon Sheppard, Matthew Booth, Bradley Carnell and Andre Arendse.
