South Africa-based club legend and former Mamelodi Sundowns player Alexander “Cool Ruler” Maseko has sent a rare message to the current Highlanders squad that has found the going tough in the opening eight fixtures of the 2019 Castle Larger Premier Soccer League (PSL).
On Sunday the wounded Highlanders face TelOne FC in a league match to be played at Barbourfields stadium, and the boys will be hoping to collect their first maximum points of the season.
Unlike the majority who are only concerned about the team’s slow start to the season, Maseko is also worried about the players’ careers, which he said require a lot of positive attitude and concentration if they are to reach higher levels.
The “Cool Ruler” who visited Highlanders offices on Wednesday and met his former teammate – the current club technical manager Madinda Ndlovu, said despite all the difficulties, players should think about their careers whose future goes beyond the current season.
In the past two seasons Highlanders have managed to assemble a very entertaining, futuristic and youthful squad with an average age of twenty-two, but there were already fears that the poor start to this season’s campaign might affect their confidence.
However, club captain Ariel Sibanda and his lieutenants Tendai Ndlovu and Nqobizitha diminished these fears as they told the city’s biggest daily – the Chronicle that the team has never stopped believing.
Perhaps sensing the danger and vulnerability associated with careers of youthful players in such difficult times, Maseko emphasised on the need for the boys to put their careers ahead of everything.
“They must not think about the people; they must think about themselves, they must think about their careers. They must not think about money, they must not think about anything (other than their careers). What they need to do is to show people that, listen! we can do it. They need to concentrate on the game because if they are not playing no one is going to scout them. They won’t have any future anywhere else,” said Maseko.
The nostalgic “Cool Ruler” also reminisced old memories – from the days he was scouted by Bobby Clark from DRG Viking and made his Highlanders debut in 1984 up to 1988 where he left Bosso to join Darryn Tornadoes.
Before joining Darryn Tornadoes Maseko had had some memorable seasons with Highlanders, including the 1986 season that saw them winning the Chibuku trophy, Rothmans shield, Natbrew cup, and the Independence trophy.
In that same season, the team also reached the semi-finals of the BAT Rosebowl and the finals of the Africa cup.
Maseko rejoined Bosso in 1990 helping the club win its first league title since independence. In the following year (1991) he was signed by South African giants and current champions Mamelodi Sundowns enjoying a five-year career until he parted ways with the club in 1996.
The “Cool Ruler” also played for the Zimbabwe men’s team. He was part of the dream team that narrowly missed qualifying for the 1994 Nations Cup and World Cup by a whisker.