DURBAN – Hard-working midfielder Michael Morton of AmaZulu will be completing his 10th season in professional football in the coming season.
He made his debut back in 2008 while plying his trade at Orlando Pirates.
Morton has played for a number of clubs during his career. He has been to Parktown (Pirates), Milpark (Bidvest Wits), Pietermaritzburg (Maritzburg United) , Pretoria (SuperSport United) and now Durban (AmaZulu).
Morton has now made up his mind that he is to make Usuthu his permanent home. He joined Usuthu last season on loan from SuperSport but the club have now signed him permanently.
“Next year I will be 30. I want to find a home for myself. AmaZulu's that type of a club; they are a family. There is a nice unity and a good group of guys. We’ve got some young players. I feel like I can give back to a lot of these youngsters, so definitely looking to make AmaZulu my home,” Morton explained when he interacted with the media at Gateway Mall in Umhlanga in Durban on Friday during the launch of Adidas new store.
Morton left Pirates permanently in 2011 to join Maritzburg United. His spell with the Team of Choice lasted for three seasons before joining Matsatsantsa A Pitori in 2014.
“It was disappointing for me having to leave Pirates who I supported growing up. I used to go to all the Soweto derbies, analysing the Gift Leremi’s of this world, Benedict Vilakazi and all those guys. They were some of my favourite players. It was difficult to break through and the thing with me is that I’m an impatient individual. When I was breaking through at 19, they had a great bunch of good players. I couldn’t break in to the first team and I went to the chairman (Irvin Khoza) and said 'Mr Chairman, I want to play football'. I’m so grateful to him for allowing me an opportunity to go to Wits on loan for those two years because it made me the player that I am. I owe a lot to Irvin and Pirates,“ Morton explained.
Morton is inspired by the legendary duo of Siyabonga 'Bhele' Nomvethe and Mabhudi Khenyeza.
“Bhele is 40 but still going strong. So I also think, I have another 10 years and that’s why I can’t think about retirement now. And AmaZulu is that type of the club where if you do well, you make yourself a legend of the club. Mabhudi Khenyeza and Bhele are good assets for the team, and it will be nice to follow in their footsteps.” he added.
During his nine years in professional football Morton has amassed a good deal of silverware. He boasts three Nedbank Cup triumphs and the Telkom Knockout crown.
“It is nice that I have represented clubs with big reputations in South African football. Obviously, I started my career at Pirates. They were responsible for making me the player I am today. I spent seven years in their development programme. A lot of who I am is because of Pirates. At Wits I spent two years on loan. During my time with Maritzburg United, I worked with top players like Derlon Buckley and Dillon Shepard. I learnt a lot from them as well. At the peak of my career, I went to SuperSport. When I left Maritzburg, I said, I wanted to win trophies. I was lucky enough to win a number of Nedbank Cups and the Telkom Knockout. That was a great time of my career,” Morton said with a smile.
Usuthu bought PSL status last season. They were relegated three seasons ago and Morton was so dejected to see this. "I felt like the club was too big and had too much history to be sitting down in the National First Division. I want this team to be successful and restore their place as one of the great clubs in South Africa. I want to be part of that growth."