’I nearly joined Orlando Pirates,’ says Kaizer Chiefs legend Doctor Khumalo

Were it not for Bobby Motaung, one of the greatest players to don the Kaizer Chiefs jersey could have belonged to the mighty Orlando Pirates.

That’s the story Doctor Khumalo told on Friday when speaking on SAFM on Friday.

Khumalo signed for AmaKhosi in 1986, while still in school, and went on to become one of the club’s greatest ever players.

“I almost joined Orlando Pirates but it was thanks to Bobby [Motaung] and others that I ended up at Chiefs,” Khumalo said in the interview on Friday.

“Pirates had already approached me. But the next day after school, I was told Chiefs want to see me,“ he said.

“When I got there, the Chairman had a contract, already signed by my father.”

Khumalo also revealed how in 1992, he had an unsuccessful trial with Aston Villa, who were a dominant force in English football at the time.

“Some people ask why I didn’t play in Europe,” he added. “But I went to Aston Villa for trials and we played Fiorentina in Italy. I realised this is not my kind of football.

“It was ‘skop and donner’. I did a ‘show me your number’ and they swore at me. I decided to come back home.”

Khumalo played over 400 games for AmaKhosi before calling time on his career in 2004. IOL