Ayanda Patosi talks about the Bafana Bafana icons who have shaped his career!

Former Bafana Bafana star receives a lot of praise.

Ayanda Patosi talks about the Bafana Bafana icons who have shaped his career!

For Ayanda Patosi, the path from a hopeful academy kid in Cape Town to the bright lights of Bafana Bafana was not walked alone. Now 33 and charting a new chapter with ABC Motsepe League side Hope FC, the attacking midfielder reflects on the four national icons whose influence became the bedrock of his career, guidance he still seeks to this day.

The names read like a roll call from a golden era of South African football: midfield maestros Reneilwe ‘Yeye’ Letsholonyane and Siphiwe ‘Shabba’ Tshabalala, stalwart goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, and the late, revered defender Anele Ngcongca. To Patosi, these were not just future teammates; they were first idols, their images blurred through the windows of a team bus he once chased as a starstruck youth.

“I was running after their bus with my academy in Cape Town,” Patosi told FARPost, recalling the surreal shift from admirer to peer. “Then, boom! In 2011, I’m sharing the same field with them; it’s a dream come true.”

This rapid ascent—from academy pitches to a senior national team debut against Morocco in 2013—meant Patosi, despite his youth, was suddenly learning from men who had carried a nation’s hopes on the world's biggest stage at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Their mentorship went beyond the training ground, shaping the professional he would become.

Today, as he reignites his career in the Western Cape with ambitious Hope FC, the bonds forged over a decade ago remain vital. Even after earning his 10-plus international caps and experiencing club football abroad, Patosi’s connection to these pillars endures. “I’m still friends with them now,” he shared. “Sometimes I ask for advice from them even now.”

In this phase of renewal, currently helping Hope FC challenge at the top of their Stream A table, the counsel of Letsholonyane, Tshabalala, Khune, and the legacy of Ngcongca continues to guide him. Their influence represents a lasting bridge between the wide-eyed talent who once chased a dream and the experienced campaigner now pursuing his next one, forever anchored by the giants upon whose shoulders he stood.