Thabo Cele’s Sundowns move offers reunion with key figure from his past

Thabo Cele’s move to Mamelodi Sundowns could provide the midfielder with a quicker route back into the team because of his existing relationship with the club’s academy leadership.

Sundowns surprised many by signing the 29-year-old, who made only 36 appearances during his one-and-a-half seasons with Kaizer Chiefs after joining from Russian club Fakel Voronezh.

Cele’s time at Chiefs became increasingly difficult. He was largely frozen out after Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze replaced former head coach Nasreddine Nabi as co-coaches.

The midfielder, who is from KwaMashu, then suffered an injury shortly before the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) break. That ruled him out of selection for a number of matches once the tournament-enforced recess had ended and left him unable to challenge for a regular starting place.

His situation deteriorated further following the arrival of Fernando Da Cruz as Chiefs’ new head coach. Da Cruz made it clear soon after taking charge at the Naturena village that Cele was not part of his plans, resulting in the midfielder training separately from the rest of the squad.

Cele and Chiefs eventually ended their relationship by mutual consent through a termination of his contract.

However, his move to Sundowns should not require him to become familiar with an entirely new football environment. The midfielder was first identified by Paulo Cardoso, now the club’s Head of Academy, while Cardoso was serving as Academy Director at KZN Academy.

Cardoso played an important part in helping Cele begin his professional career. He was signed by Portuguese club Real SC in 2016, before moving to Benfica reserves a year later.

The reunion at Sundowns also brings Cele back together with a former Benfica B team-mate. Nuno Santos, who was in the same Benfica B squad as Cele, is now his colleague at the South African club.

Cele’s time in Portugal included a half-season loan spell at Real SC before he completed a permanent move to fellow Portuguese club Cova Piedade.