It’s not quite often that big-name players live up to the billing when they join big clubs. History is replete with players who arrived at top clubs but ended up as disappointments.
In Europe, Eden Hazard is a splendid example of a player that failed to live up to his reputation. The Belgian has turned out to be a major flop at the Spanish capital. Other players with not so big reputations include Bebe and Juan Sebastien Veron at Manchester United, Robinho at Manchester City and Andriy Shevchenko at Chelsea.
There must be a reason why incidents like this happen. A good player does not turn bad overnight, and a former Orlando Pirates player seems to know why as it concerns players in the PSL.
Njabulo Mangana, a former Orlando Pirates midfielder, has offered reasons why some players fail at big clubs. Mangana, who also sees himself as a big club failure, believes he has the answers.
After playing for Golden Arrows, Mangana played for the Bucs and was one of the best players.
He failed to live up to the hype and never reached the heights of Mbulelo Mabizela and Siyabonga Sangweni.
Mangana believes that adapting to the Gauteng lifestyle can be challenging.
Magana said in an interview that life in Gauteng is too fast, and a player can fail at big clubs if he refrains from taking care of himself. According to the midfielder, the distractions makes one forget his purpose for being there.
He also attributed the continuous changing of coaches in the PSL as another reason. He offered his sympathies to players who find themselves in a team loaded with big players. It can be challenging, especially with the changes occurring when the player is already adapting to the new environment and tactics.
Coming from a team as a regular to a new team and becoming part of the furniture can be demanding. According to Mangana, it takes time for the coaches to trust the player.
The third challenge is arriving at a club that is about to change its coach.