It's very difficult to talk about the famous 'Operation Vat Alles' Kaizer Chiefs team and not mention the name Rene Richards.
Richards played for only two Premier Soccer League clubs in his career, Chiefs and Bidvest Wits.
"It was 2012 when I retired. At that time I think I was 29 or 30, I was at Wits. I actually wanted to start developing players here in South Africa," Richards tells snl24.com/kickoff.
'RR' explains how he got to be a member of the only Amakhosi team ever to do well in Africa, winning the Mandela Cup.
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"Well I was playing for Zulu Royals, so I was only 17 at the time, a first division team. So we played against Maritzburg United and Farouk Khan was at the stadium and he saw me, and he liked me.
"So he is the one that scouted me and in a few weeks' time I ended up signing for Chiefs, for the first team. I was only 18 years old. 2001, 2002, the all-conquering team, I was part of that. I just played I think two games for their academy team and I was signed for the first team.
"I've got so many trophies in my cabinet it's crazy. I won the league, Mandela Cup in Africa... it's like good memories man, especially like with your teammates, the team that you were playing with. It's like everybody was committed, everybody was confident, they wanted to win things.
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"I think I enjoyed my football more at Kaizer Chiefs, but Muhsin Ertugral for me he was a very, very good coach and I learned a lot from him. If you are going to play professional you want to win trophies so that inspired me more. So I think for me Chiefs by far was the best team that I played for.
"The only thing that I regret in football is when we went to Mauritius with Chiefs to play, I never went scuba diving, that's the only thing that I regret."
What was the highest salary he earned during his playing days?
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"Ok no I can't reveal that [laughs]. But I can say I did pay my parents' house off in the first year when I was at Chiefs. You know it's all about management, I even got an investment in Durban with property. I think it was after three years I was at Chiefs. Also the money that I saved [while still playing] helped me to start something, not like huge but just to get a headstart of what I want to achieve.
"I'm not as yet married but I've got my future [wife] with me. She will probably be my fiance in the next couple of months. I've got two kids. I'm based in Joburg."
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These days the former Amakhosi star does a few jobs to put food on the table.
"I'm a director at Crusaders FC, I'm also a coach as well. I coach with Wilson Shindzelani [former Orlando Pirates and Wits player], and then I've got my own company called Double RR Elite Training. I do soccer clinics. I'm part of Pro Performance Sport where we scout players and promote them overseas, even local clubs."
Richards was asked what he thinks they had in 2001 that the current Chiefs team is lacking.
"I think it's a little bit more from the players, and a little bit more motivation. Like us, we were one team on the pitch and one team even off the pitch. So the relationship with the players was always good, everybody was giving each other confidence man. I think they are lacking that. I think it's a little bit too much individualism and it's not like a team performance, like orientated."
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