In our exciting new feature, KickOff chats to former Kaizer Chiefs player Isaac Mabotsa on his welcome to the league moment starting out as a professional footballer at the Soweto giants.
What was your welcome to the league moment?
"Playing in my first Soweto derby. Although it was a dream come true, it came with so much pressure. At the same time, it was not easy to adjust," Mabotsa tells KickOff.
"The Soweto derby, people take it for granted but take it from me it is a huge occassions.
"You need to play to win and at the same time you must entertain the supporters. And it's not easy to balance those two things.
"The moment you are told to go into the pitch it's when you realise how huge of an occasions it is and that it is real.
"You do get cold feet. But the moment you enter the pitch everything starts to settle down a bit.
"My welcome to the league moment was the crowd during the Soweto derby. If you can't handle the crowd, then forget it.
"When you step into the FNB Stadium pitch that crowd looks like a bee colony or beehive, you only realise once you are inside its people. All you hear is the humming and constant noise of the crowd.
"You get excited when you sign for Kaizer Chiefs, but immediately when you realise they've put your name in the starting line-up, you pee 15 times before the match starts.
"I still remember my first game was against Jomo Cosmos at Vosloorus. But after that game everybody congratulated me."
Who was a player who gave you a tough time when you started out as a professional player?
"That was at Kaizer Chiefs again, being around players like Doctor Khumalo and Thabo Mooki, also the late Thabang Lebese was intimidating and at the same time it was exciting.
"My most difficult opponent was the late Gift Leremi and Cheeseboy [Lebohang Mokoena], they were both good and had skill and pace. Those are the guys who gave me toughest time on the pitch."