Johannesburg - Living legend Surprise Moriri is the envy of many a footballer.
Moriri, one of the most decorated players in the PSL, boasts a glittering resumé riddled with prestigious accolades. The Mamelodi Sundowns poster boy’s living room glitters with three PSL championship medals, one SAA Supa Eight medal and two Nedbank Cup medals.
Throughout his career, spanning over a decade, Moriri has amassed massive personal accolades as well.
In 2006 he walked away with the PSL Player of the Season and PSL Players’ Player of the Season awards. Moriri also donned the Bafana Bafana jersey 34 times. He was a member of the Bafana squad at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
With such honours and at the age of 35, the usual retirement age, the questions is: what’s still left for Moriri to achieve?
“Obviously I want more trophies and to win the CAF Champions League. We are going back to the Champions League and we want to do well,” said Moriri.
He may have lost a yard of pace, but Moriri says retirement is not even on his mind since his legs can still carry him.
The rigorous demands of football means Moriri’s recovery after intense matches and training sessions is not as quick as it used to be. The midfield genius says he has adapted to taking things easy.
“Fortunately the supporting staff have been helping me. They have been managing me very well in terms of reco-vering and other things. I make sure I rest a lot and that after a hard session I go through a recovery process,” said the man from Matibidi in Mpumala-nga.
Moriri is the most experienced player in Pitso Mosimane’s team having played at the club since 2004. The Downs fan favourite, who has fans singing songs about him during matches, knows it won’t be easy to feature prominently in a team that has many midfielders. Among his responsibilities is to mentor youngsters in Mosimane’s team, though.
“My role is to help youngsters understand what the team is all about and the pressure that comes with playing for Sundowns. Make sure you calm them down so they focus on the game. They must know we are on the field to win,” said Moriri.
“What motivates me is that there are a lot of youngsters looking up to me so there’s no reason to drop the standard and give up. If they see me giving up, it means I am letting them down. I must always give my best.”
This afternoon Sundowns take on Bidvest Wits in what is expected to be a tough league encounter at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville.
Moriri may not be an outright starter but he will be a part of the proceedings as Downs will throw all they have in order to see off the challenge.
Moriri believes victory over Wits will come in handy as they psyche themselves up for what is going to be a torrid season.
“It’s always a tough game against Wits, one of the teams that will be competing for the league. We need to go out there and give our best. We must focus for the 90 minutes,” said the former Platinum Stars player.
“It’s going to be very tough. If you look at all the teams, Wits have beefed up. They want to do better than last season.”
Saturday Star