For all his glitz and glamour, status and glittering career, playmaker Sibusiso Vilakazi has just one medal to show for it.
Since turning professional eight years ago, the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder has won just one medal - gold from the 2010 Nedbank Cup final. In fact Vilakazi has mixed feelings about the medal since he didn’t work for it.
Vilakazi was sidelined by a serious injury when Bidvest Wits beat AmaZulu 3-0 in that final at Soccer City.
“I would have loved to be there playing so that I receive it in a good way because I have participated. Overall it’s the team. The team has done it for me because I was injured. I would have loved to be there inside contributing,” said Vilakazi.
Since then, medals have been eluding Vilakazi. Twice, with Wits, he lost cup finals against Orlando Pirates in the Telkom Knockout in 2011 and the Nedbank Cup in 2013.
Now Vilakazi has a chance to get a metal that glitters when Sundowns take on his former team Wits at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Saturday afternoon.
Vilakazi wouldn’t like the repeat of all the finals where he and his teammates were deemed second best.
“I lost two finals and I was disappointed. Now it’s a different situation. Hopefully, it’s going to be a turnaround for me and the team.
“The most important thing is the continuity of the team.
“Since we are in it we might as well go all the way. We have worked very hard under a tight schedule and we deserve a trophy with the efforts that we have been putting,” said the Bafana Bafana player.
“It’s going to be an interesting one. I hope I find myself on the winning side. I am confident that with the team that we have, we will go all the way. The important thing is that we impose ourselves.
“We are ready to work for one another and go all the way. It’s a trophy that the club has been longing for for such a long time. It’s missing in the cabinet.
“I think everyone will be fresher. The stage will be set and we want to perform.”
It will be the first time Vilakazi will squares off against Wits since he left Gavin Hunt’s side to link up with Pitso Mosimane. Vilakazi was lured to Chloorkop by the prospect of winning medals.
“Everybody wants to win and they want to be associated with players who are winning and for me it’s about coming here and trying to add more to what they have achieved.
“I want to win and the team wants to win. It’s a combination,” said the 2013/14 PSL Player of the Season.
Though Vilakazi knows some of his former teammates' flaws, he is aware that Wits will be different from the side he left a few months ago.
The 26-year-old midfielder has noted the beefing up that Hunt has done in order to have his team competing for silverware
“It’s quality. The XI that starts is quality. Even the subs are quality.
“With the couple of games that they have played, they have shown consistency. They don’t concede too many goals.
“The defence is strong. And they have experienced guys - (Daine) Klate, (Elias) Pelembe, Tyson (Thulani Hlatshwayo), Buhle (Mkhwanazi) and even the goalkeepers. All the departments, you can see they are very solid. It’s going to be a tough one. We would like to test ourselves as to how far we can go with Wits in the final,” said the man from Soweto.
Vilakazi will certainly be in the spotlight on Saturday. Will the talisman raise his game and prove a point against his former employers or will the pressure of performing weigh him down?
“It’s not about me. The final is about everyone and the team who is selected. Overall it’s a team sport. There’s no pressure at all,” said Vilakazi.
The Star