DURBAN - From the heights of dazzling the masses in the colours of Orlando Pirates to being stuck at home as a free agent, Mark Mayambela still harbours dreams of donning the black and gold of Kaizer Chiefs.
He is now 32 but the talented midfielder still possesses silky skills and deft touches that could send the Chiefs faithful into a frenzy.
Mayambela is a typically gifted playmaker with Kasi flavour moves that could easily win games, but discipline has at times been cited as his Achilles heel. He burst onto the scene a decade ago at Bloemfontein Celtic.
After the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa, the Cape Town-born midfielder joined the Buccaneers, where he was a part of the treble-winning team in two consecutive seasons.
But despite that success with the Sea Robbers, he confesses that his heart has always been with the Glamour Boys.
“It is not a desire to play for Chiefs but it is a dream. It’s been a dream ever since I turned professional. Chiefs is a team that I grew up supporting and watching. I used to like legends like Frank Makua, Arthur Zwane, Thabo (Tsiki-Tsiki) Mooki, Doctor Khumalo, Jabu (Pule) Mahlangu, the late Scara Ngobese and Thabang Lebese.
“It is a team that I’ve always seen myself playing for,” Mayambela disclosed.
The lanky ball juggler recently parted ways with Cape Town City after the departure of coach Benni McCarthy. “Professor”, as his admirers call him, has since become a free agent and he can join any club of his choice.
“I always get that extra motivation when I’m playing against Kaizer Chiefs because of the love that I had for them when I was growing up,” he added.
At his age and the fact he has been inactive for a while, it may well be a far-fetched dream for Mayambela to fulfil.
It is no secret that Amakhosi were once keen on luring him to Naturena some years ago but the interest may have waned as the star nears his sell-by date.
“When I was at Bloem Celtic, I was in contact with a lot of people and a lot of teams (who were interested in my services). It was teams in Europe and big teams in South Africa and I ended up joining Pirates. I came close to joining Kaizer Chiefs. We spoke with Bobby Motaung at the time but nothing substantive followed,” Mayambela said.
In 2014, he joined Djugarden in Sweden. He stayed for only one season, though, before returning to the PSL.
He also played at Chippa United and was a darling among the club’s fan base in the Eastern Cape.
Mayambela believes he still has some gas left in the tank to engineer good results for a big team.