Olwethu Makhanya's Journey: From Overlooked to Bafana Bafana Opportunity
Olwethu Makhanya has never been short of potential. What he has lacked, at least in a Bafana Bafana shirt, is trust.
The Rangers defender, widely regarded as one of South Africa’s most exciting defensive exports, spent much of Hugo Broos’ tenure looking on from the fringes. Even during the FIFA World Cup in June, when his club form had pushed him firmly into the spotlight, he remained anchored to the bench.
Now, with Pitso Mosimane stepping into the national team hot seat, Makhanya has finally put words to the frustration that simmered through that period.
He saw the change in the dugout as more than a simple appointment. For him, it felt like a reset.
"I saw the coaching change as an opportunity for a fresh start in the national team because I always felt like I was overlooked by the previous coach," Makhanya told SABC Sport, laying bare a sense of exclusion that had lingered under the Belgian.
Broos’ reign was marked by bold calls and blunt opinions, and one of his most contentious themes was his repeated criticism of Major League Soccer. That struck a nerve with Makhanya, who spent a formative spell in the United States and built a significant part of his reputation there.
The former Bafana boss questioned the standard of MLS, casting doubt on whether it could properly prepare players for the international stage. Makhanya never bought into that narrative.
"I never understood the criticism because all these people probably never actually watched the MLS. People that really watch that league will tell you that it's high level football," he said, defending a competition he believes is badly misunderstood from afar.
For him, the debate is not theoretical. He has lived it. He has felt the tempo, the physicality, the tactical detail of the American game, and he refuses to let it be dismissed with a shrug.
To make his point, Makhanya went further, stacking the leagues he knows best against one another. At the top of his personal hierarchy sits his current stage.
"Honestly, if I were to rank them, I'll put the Scottish Premiership first, second is the MLS, and the Betway Premiership is third."
It is a revealing order. The Scottish Premiership, with its intensity and unforgiving spotlight at a club like Rangers, stands as his peak. MLS, often derided from a distance, comes next in his eyes, ahead of the domestic Betway Premiership that first launched him.
The message is clear: his journey has not followed the traditional South African pathway, and he believes that should count for him, not against him.
Under Mosimane, a coach renowned for backing conviction with opportunity, Makhanya will feel the door has finally swung open. After years of feeling overlooked, he now stands at the edge of a new era, determined to prove that the leagues he has fought through – and the criticism he has absorbed – have forged a defender ready to anchor Bafana Bafana’s future.
