The terrible twins, success and failure, have used Thabang Monare – himself a twin – as a ball in their back-and-forth ping-pong match, knocking him from one side to the other.
After winning the league for the first time in his career with Wits, Monare finds himself and the Clever Boys languishing at the bottom of the log after the first half of the season in what has been a terrible defence of their PSL title. But the lad from Embalenhle in Mpumalanga has been in this situation before with Jomo Cosmos.
The joy of captaining Ezenkosi to promotion from the National First Division was short-lived as Cosmos were relegated after just one season in the elite league.
But the 28-year-old had it harder at the University of Pretoria, with Andile Jali and Aubrey Ngoma as teammates.
While the pair’s career rose, Monare’s stalled and he was eventually released by AmaTuks which saw him play for FC AK (without getting paid). Monare has approached every challenge with a positive mindset.
“The key is not to look at it as a negative,” Monare said. “We are just eight points below the last team in the top eight (Chippa United) and they are just nine points from the leaders (Sundowns). I didn’t view the challenges that I went through as a negative because as a person you must be tested so that you see what you are made of. Such moments test your character.”
The Clever Boys are at home against their hoodoo team Free State Stars next Friday.