Rangers defender Olwethu Makhanya has revealed his mother's refusal to let him quit football as a homesick teenager set him on the path that has brought him to Ibrox for Saturday's Old Firm derby against Celtic.
The Old Firm fixture between Rangers and Celtic is regarded as one of the fiercest rivalries in world football, and Saturday's game will be Makhanya's first experience of it since arriving at the club in the summer.
The 22-year-old, who joined Rangers from Major League Soccer side Philadelphia Union, said he came close to abandoning the sport altogether at just 16 after a fruitless search for a club in Johannesburg, nearly 600km (373 miles) north of his home city of Durban.
A phone call that changed everything
Makhanya travelled to Johannesburg looking for trial games but was turned away by every team he approached. Discouraged, he called his mother to tell her he wanted to come home and focus on his education instead.
"I went to Johannesburg looking for better opportunities, but when I got there it was a difficult journey for me," he said. "I went to multiple teams trying to get signed and nothing was happening. I ended up calling my mum."
"I told her it was really difficult what I was trying to do and it wasn't happening. I said I just wanted to come back home, maybe focus on education because maybe football is not for me," he continued. "She just said, 'you told me you were going there so don't come back until you do it.'"
Rather than fly home, Makhanya used the money he had set aside for the return trip to travel to Polokwane instead, where he signed his first professional contract at academy level.
"If it wasn't for my mum, I don't think I would still be playing," he said.
From Stellenbosch to MLS
Makhanya later moved to the south-west of South Africa to sign for Stellenbosch FC, a club in the country's top-flight Betway Premiership, where he finally broke into first-team football. In a single season there he won the most promising player award in the Nedbank Cup, South Africa's leading domestic cup competition, and earned a transfer to Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer.
He spent three years in the United States, regularly coming up against Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba, his former Barcelona team-mate and among the highest-profile players in MLS, before completing his move to Rangers this summer.
Settling in quickly at Rangers
Now 22, Makhanya has made an immediate impression at Ibrox with physical, quick and composed performances in defence.
"I would say so far, so good. I feel like I've been settling in very well," he said. "To be honest, before I even came here, I always felt like I can play at this level, at a higher level. I already had the belief that I'd do well."
His arrival has coincided with an upturn in Rangers' defensive form under manager Derek McInnes, who is currently without strikers Lawrence Shankland and Youssef Chermiti. Rangers failed to keep a clean sheet in their opening five matches of the season, contributing to a poor start, but have conceded just once in their last four games, each of which ended in a narrow win.
Preparing to face Celtic
Celtic have not missed a beat domestically, and Saturday's meeting will offer a stern test of whether Rangers' improved form can hold against their oldest rivals.
"Yeah, it's going to be very important to stay together," Makhanya said. "Even the guys that are not starting, the guys coming in and helping us. I think we showed a lot of togetherness (against St Mirren in midweek) and it's something that we've been working on. We've been off the field spending time together, getting to understand one another. So, yeah, it's going to be very important along the way."
Rangers made 14 signings over the summer, only three of them Scottish, with James Penrice the sole Scot likely to start Saturday's match. Makhanya said the significance of the fixture had not been lost on the club's new arrivals.
"I think everyone understands what this fixture means, to the club, to the fans, everyone," he said. "It's going to be a very passionate game and I'm just excited to be part of it. I'm honestly expecting a really, really crazy game from the fans from the first whistle to the last one."
