FORMER Kaizer Chiefs star Junior Khanye is still dreaming of playing professional football again some day!
The almost forgotten footballer (32) refuses to throw in the towel and would like to be given another chance in life.
Khanye is quick to admit that keeping bad company and living an extravagant lifestyle had wrecked his once promising career.
But he argues that if Jabu “Shuffle” Mahlangu could find redemption, why not him?
If South Africans could forgive Mahlangu, Khanye hopes they could give him a second chance to improve his life too.
He is hopeful that he could also get his job back and earn a living as a footballer again.
Mahlangu was a friend of Khanye’s along with Skapie Malatsie, the three of whom were regarded as South African football’s troublesome trio.
But Mahlangu, a successful TV football analyst for SuperSport these days, is a reformed man.
The Daveyton-born footballer lives with his mum and sister in Etwatwa and is a God-fearing man who does not miss a church service nowadays.
He also has four children – three sons and a daughter.
Khanye says he is in the best shape of his life and still has a lot to offer to Premier Soccer League (PSL) clubs, as he made a humble plea for one of them to sign him.
The right wing was once the toast of South African football at the peak of his career in Chiefs and junior national team colours.
But life has humbled him: “I have been through a lot in life. But I don’t have regrets and I don’t feel sorry for myself.
“I started earning lots of money, bought cars and became a heavy drinker. As a result I started missing training or arriving late. Chiefs gave me the platform but I mixed with the wrong crowd. Those things caught up with me.”
Khanye is now playing amateur football and claims he’s still a regular goal-scorer, just like before.
His last professional contract was in Swaziland in 2013. These days he earns a living as an ambassador for various soccer tournaments and performs piece jobs.
He said: “I was ambassador of a football tournament in Mpumalanga for four months. Soccer is my life. Some players invite me to help them with things off the pitch and pay me.”
His advice to the current crop of footballers in the PSL is quite simple: “Associate with the right people. Save your money, don’t party too hard.
“It’s not easy to stand alone and face the nation as a failure – just ask me.”
He says he doesn’t care about those people who constantly laugh about him ekasi: “I don’t entertain such people.”
Kanye keeps busy by running his foundation, teaching kids to not act the way he did. And he is always training, although he does it alone these days.
