Mark Mayambela has been unfairly judged for his entire football career, according to a former Orlando Pirates head coach.
Though regarded as one of the top players in the country, Mayambela was arguably never able to reach his full potential in the PSL.
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The former Bloemfontein Celtic, Djurgardens, Chippa United, SuperSport United Ajax Cape Town winger is currently unemployed following his release by Cape Town City.
"I came across Mark at Pirates and I thought he was great at Pirates in my time there," Roger de Sa tells snl24.com/kickoff.
"At the time he was having a dispute between agent and club so he was kind of suspended, so couldn't really play unfortunately.
"But then later on I found him at Ajax [Cape Town] where I thought he could have been a great addition to a very young team. Unfortunately I left Ajax soon after that.
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"But all my experiences with him, I found him a good man. We could talk face to face. We discussed a lot of things about the game. I thought he was very talented. A lot of times I don't think he was used correctly, to his best, to his ability.
"I don't believe he is a naughty boy and I think he's been given a pretty bad sort of reputation over the years. I never had a problem with him at all, I can tell you that. I consider him a friend now.
"Of course we have a relationship of a coach and a player but you know we always have a chat and a good laugh, and a lot of respect. I don't think we saw his best, I think because of his club movement, and he never really stayed at a club for long enough to really prove himself.
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"You know he was always very professional, he trained every day and he gave his best. I never had a bad moment with him."
De Sa, who is now a part-owner of GladAfrica Championship side Cape Umoya United, says rumours that the player recently resurfaced at the club are not true.
"No, I have never seen him, I don't know where he is at the moment," he confirms. "That's not true."