THEMBA “Mshishi” Zwane SHOULD come to the World Cup on a high note following the news of his contract renewal at Mamelodi Sundowns with whom he won the Caf Champions League title for the second time this season.
This young player in the Bafana Bafana squad going to the World Cup has spent 15 years with the African champions since he joined them in 2011 from the youth team.
Zwane (36) was not a piece of furniture in the 15 years he spent at Sundowns which is proven by his winning the league title nine times and two Caf stars.
Although injuries in previous seasons have reduced the time Zwane spends on the field, his ability is difficult to ignore as happened to Bafana coach, Hugo Broos, who included him in the 26 players that he took with him to Mexico, Canada and the United States of America (USA).
When Sundowns was hoping to win the Champions League after 10 years, Zwane was asked by the media about his future since his contract was ending this month.
“At the moment we are still focused on celebrating success in the Champions League, so I have no idea what will happen to my future,” said Zwane before adding that his desire is to throw Sundowns into the cork trap.
The announcement that Zwane has been given a new contract was announced by Sundowns on their different social media pages on the same day it was announced that he will start Bafana’s friendly against Nicaragua (last Friday).
“The captain of Sundowns, Themba Zwane has signed a contract for the season with this team,” it was written like this.
However, there are different opinions on social media about Zwane’s departure with the team to the World Cup as he is a distance away from Patrick “Tito” Maswanganyi of Orlando Pirates who looks better in terms of numbers.
Even so, Broos believes in Zwane and initially ignored him in the national team until he changed his mind.
“Zwane needs a lot of things for the World Cup, so choosing him was not a difficult thing,” said Broos on the day he announced the 26 players.
“I understand his situation and that he is not fully aware of it as I know his importance in this national team,” said Broos highlighting that all the players listen to Zwane which is what he needs as a coach.