CHIEFS SKIPPER TEFU THE BIG WINNER

Chiefs skipper wins R450 000 and coveted Footballer of the Season

TEFU Mashamaite’s multiple success at last night’s 2014/15 PSL awards was a triumph for teamwork and a sign that even in this era of the Messi’s and Ronaldo’s, good old defensive play and hard work are still important in the beautiful game.

The Kaizer Chiefs captain walked away with three awards – Footballer of the Season, Absa Premiership Players’ Player of the Season, as well as Absa Premiership Defender of the Season – to swell his bank account by a whooping R450 000.

Mashamaite, pictured, installed Chiefs captain in place of the flamboyant Itumeleng Khune, lead Amakhosi with some aplomb this season as his solid displays from the back set the foundation for a magnificent campaign that saw his team literally walk the championship.

Solid in the tackle, excellent in reading the game, fantastic in the air and calm under pressure, the defender they fondly call Masha at Naturena was an influential presence for the champions throughout the season and even chipped in with some goals for a successful campaign that also delivered the MTN8 title.

Impressively, Mashamaite played in all of Chiefs’ league matches and got booked only twice – the sign of a defender who times his tackles perfectly.

In a game that is often obsessed with the skilful goalscorer ala the Barcelona or Real Madrid stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Mashamaite’s success was a reminder of the importance of good defensive play, with that good old adage that defences win championship and attacks win matches ringing so true.

For while Chiefs were fantastic in attack, their title triumph was achieved on the basis of a solid defence that saw them concede a miserly 14 goals in their 30 matches, despite using all three of their goalkeepers this season.

And Mashamaite’s steadiness was pretty crucial in the heart of the defence where he performed very well with either Erick Mathoho or Morgan Gould alongside him.

Mashamaite was not the only Amakhosi member to walk away with a big smile from the Sandton Convention Centre last night, his coach Stuart Baxter taking home the Coach of the Season accolade.

George Maluleka was voted the best player of the MTN8 competition, which Chiefs won earlier in the season, and walked away with the Last Man Standing award and R80 000 in prize money.

The rest of the awards were shared among the clubs, with BIDVest Wits’ Moeneeb Josephs and Phumlani Ntshangase winning the Absa Premiership Goalkeeper of the Season and Absa Premiership Young Player of the Season awards, respectively.

Mamelodi Sundowns’ Teko Modise walked away with two gongs, the Absa Premiership Midfielder of the Season as well as the Nedbank Cup Player of the Tournament.

SuperSport United’s Dove Wome was the best player of the Telkom Knockout, which his team won.