Katlego Mphela of Kaizer ChiefsGallo

Former Kaizer Chiefs and Sundowns striker Katlego Mphela wants to give back to football

While former Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs striker Katlego Mphela won’t be turning out as a player for any team in future, he is not planning on being lost to the South African football fraternity.

Mphela, who was a lethal poacher on his day but struggled towards the latter years of his career, is now looking to help the next generation of footballers.

However, the 34-year-old does not want to be a head coach, rather he aims to pass down some of his traits which saw him shoot to stardom and become a Bafana regular, in order to improve the quality of strikers in the country.

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“I don’t see myself coaching the whole team because I don’t think I’d be able to handle all the different personalities and egos,” Mphela told the Daily Sun.

“That’s a difficult thing to do. But if I can help with something, then I will. Maybe as a striker coach because I have the experience.

Mphela was last on the books of National First Division (NFD) outfit Royal Eagles but left the club after just two seasons.

“I’ve missed chances in big games, so I already know what you have to do to score goals.

“Our strikers need guidance, coaches need to work with these guys more."

Meanwhile, Mphela’s best season in the South African top-flight was with Sundowns.

The forward netted 17 league goals and walked away with the 2009/10 PSL Golden Boot award, but he doesn’t believe the current crop of PSL strikers are doing enough.

“If they have to work twice a day, so be it. It’s their job, they get paid for it. Our last top-scorer was from Zambia. Clearly, local guys need to push themselves harder,” he concluded.

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