Nathan Paulse reveals the qualities behind his 20-year professional football career

Former Ajax Cape Town striker Nathan Paulse says relentless work and the ability to adapt were the key factors behind his 20-year career as a professional footballer.

Paulse, who represented South Africa at international level and played professionally in Europe, reflected on the qualities that helped him remain in the game despite never being regarded as one of its most glamorous players.

The striker began his career with Avendale Athletico before progressing to Ajax Cape Town. Alongside his lengthy spells with the Urban Warriors, he also played for Swedish club Hammarby IF, Bloemfontein Celtic, SuperSport United and Cape Umoya United.

He earned his only international cap for South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in 2006 and retired from professional football in 2019 at the age of 37.

Writing on his official Facebook page, Paulse explained that his career had been shaped by his usefulness to his teams, as well as his pace, goals and commitment.

“I was never really the popular, glamorous player, but I learned how to survive. That’s the story of the unpopular player who lasted. Because not every career is built on hype. Mine wasn’t,” he wrote.

Paulse said two qualities, in particular, had enabled him to continue playing at the highest level for so long.

“…and probably the two attributes that I would say contributed towards me having a 20-year journey as a professional football player. That was relentlessness and adaptability.”

He said his determination was reflected in his willingness to keep working, while stressing that a player’s importance should be judged by the effect they have on a team rather than by their profile.

“I would outwork the hardest working player and I would never stop. And here’s what we need to understand is that visibility and value are not the same thing. It’s easy to be visible, right? Especially now, nowadays, okay, it’s easy. But value speaks of impact, right? Can you impact your team’s performance?”

Paulse added that players needed to understand what they could offer and ensure those qualities benefited the collective rather than serving only their own interests.

“You know, players need to know what they carry and more importantly, make that useful to the team, not for yourself, to the team.”