Sekhukhune United attacking midfielder Sibusiso Vilakazi has revealed the two Bafana Bafana legends he idolised while growing up and his sweet tooth for trophies.
With a Premier Soccer League (PSL) Footballer of the Season award, five Premiership titles, and a CAF Champions League title among his accolades, Vilakazi is one of the most decorated South African players and when it comes to his childhood heroes, the 33-year-old Unsurprisingly, has a taste for success.
'Vila' picked former Bafana Striker Sibusiso Zuma as his childhood idol, who played for African Wanderers and Orlando Pirates before making his most famous stint with European outfit Copenhagen.
In Denmark, 'Rhee' collected as many as five trophies, including a league title. His acrobatic 2002 bicycle-kick was voted both the Danish goal of the season and later, Goal of the decade in 2006. Zuma even has a statue outside the Copenhagen Stadium.
"I remember [Sibusiso] Zuma, there was a time where he was doing incredible things while playing for Copenhagen," Vilakazi tells KickOff.
"When he scored that famous bicycle kick, to even get a statue, that was incredible and I started to follow up on him. I thought Let me engage and see.
"He was playing there [at Copenhagen] with the number 10 jersey, It told me that they rated him highly and not only that, he was putting up the numbers, he was scoring goals. He was consistent."
READ | 'People had written me off' - Vilakazi hits back at critics
Vila also idolised retired Bafana Bafana attacking midfielder Steven Pienaar, who played for Ajax Cape Town, Ajax Amsterdam, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur.
"Then Steven Pienaar well, he played for Tottenham Hotspurs, played for Ajax and at Everton he was absolutely magical," Vilakazi adds.
"Playing week in, week out. Week in and week out, Steven was playing exceptionally.
"I would have loved to see him finish with a [Premier League] trophy, a [personal] accolade or something."