The football pundit says he learned a lot about football under coach Muhsin Ertugral during his time with the Soweto giants
Former Bafana Bafana midfielder Stanton Fredericks says his stint with Kaizer Chiefs between 2001 and 2004 was his most successful experience.
The 41-year-old retired player said he played with some of the best players at Amakhosi, making mention of Doctor Khumalo, Brian Baloyi and Thabo Mooki who all made their names at the Naturena-based outfit.
“I played with some big names [at Kaizer Chiefs]… Doctor Khumalo, Brian Baloyi, Thabo Mooki. I think it’s safe to say it’s my most successful stint in South African football,” Fredericks told the South African Football Legends.
Fredericks lifted 10 trophies with Amakhosi between 2001 and 2003 – winning all the domestic major trophies on offer several times in addition to the African Winners’ Cup, two Vodacom Challenge titles and two Telkom Charity Cup titles.
And he feels he found himself during his three-year stay with the Glamour Boys while adding that playing for Bidvest Wits was different from wearing the gold and black jersey.
Fredericks believes he learned a lot at Chiefs that it helped him last for seven to eight years in Europe before ending his professional career where it started in South Africa.
“I think in three years, I won like nine or 10 Cups. I think it’s where I found myself as a football player,” he said.
“It’s one thing playing for Wits and playing okay every third or fourth game but when you put on the gold and black [jersey], the microscope is on you – every game, you need to produce a certain level of football and [that] certainly helped me focus a little bit more. It started leading me to accept the criticism because as a human being and as a professional sportsperson if you can’t accept the good and the bad, it’s just going to get into you and you won’t perform at your maximum.
“I think it’s a space where I really learned about myself; the mental strength that came into it but most of all, I played under coach Muhsin Ertugral; I think tactically, that’s where my understanding of the game really grew and that put me in good stead to continue and play in Europe for seven to eight years,” added Fredericks.
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