Former Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana star Stanton Fredericks has made a plea to current PSL players about financial mistakes and revealed the important role the late John 'Shoes' Moshoeu played in his career.
Fredericks hung up his boots in 2013 after a season with Bidvest Wits, the club where he started his career in 1996 when they were still known as Wits University.
Affectionately known as 'Stiga', the former midfielder featured prominently in the top flight of South African football, donning the jerseys of Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United. He also enjoyed success in Europe, playing for FC Moscow in Russia and Swiss side Grasshoppers Zurich.
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In a candid interview with KickOff at the Nedbank Cup Ke Yona Ya Rona, the 45-year-old admits to plenty of mistakes in his illustrious career, the lack of financial education at the time and how Moshoeu helped him at Chiefs.
"It's important [to have these financial conversations]," Fredericks tells this website.
"I have to put it out there to the current crop of players because I was a little bit fortunate to be in a team with Shoes Moshoeu, which was the generation before me.
"He was so giving, he was informative, he guided us, he mentored us. Not every player had that opportunity that I had, not everybody played with Shoes.
JOHN "SHOES" MOSHOEU ??I had a God given talent. I also managed to take care of it.Football is my life. It's like a religionWhen I play football it's like I'm doing poetry with my bodyTurkish people used to say the ball looks good on me, it's like clothing.I was very… pic.twitter.com/jbgyuYpPBU
— Constitution First ???? (@Constitution_94) November 8, 2023
Fredericks went on to advise current PSL players to reach out to the players returning from abroad for advice.
"So, we never had that (education and mentorship) freely, now there is that. There is access to us; guys that have travelled. I've played in Europe, I've made mistakes. We are here," he shared.
"I don't want to be that guy that always speaks bad about the current crop of players because sometimes that is what we went through, but if you open yourself up, you can learn from your mistakes.
"It's not about, 'This grootman, he's played, he's finished, now what can he tell me?'
"That's the perception.
"I'm fortunate to be at SuperSport TV and I'm close to the players and the field and I can feel that distance. It's fear that does that. Nobody reaches out, it's the fear of me understanding what you are going through.
"Now, not everyone will give you sound advice, not everyone will say something positive, but you have that access, you have guys like Shabba [Siphiwe Tshabalala], like Teko [Modise] and like me.
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"Hopefully, it reaches one ear and If I can make a change in one player's outlook, then I think that's why we are here and talking about these things and sharing our experiences."
Now a more mature and wiser version of Stanton Fredericks the superstar who caused havoc with the Jabu Pules of this world on the football pitch, the soft-spoken 'Stiga' is a player representative and a soccer analyst on TV. He's also an ambassador for the Nedbank Cup.
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