In a candid interview with former Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United midfielder Michael Morton, Jeremy Brockie recalled how Pitso Mosimane lured him to join Sundowns even before the ink was dry on his Matsatsantsa A Pitori contract.
Brockie is one of the best foreign goal-getters to grace the Premier Soccer League, having netted over 50 goals in four seasons with SuperSport and was an integral member in Matsatsantsa’s trophy-laden era.
The Kiwi lifted two Nedbank Cup titles before switching to cross-town rivals Sundowns in 2018. At the time, Mosimane was at the helm of the current DStv Premiership champions, and he never hid his admiration of Brockie, affectionately describing the striker as ‘The Sniper’.
Mosimane eventually got his man, but the bullets seemingly ran out as Brockie struggled to fire at Sundowns, netting an underwhelming four goals in 27 appearances.
Brockie’s struggles at Sundowns are well-documented as he eventually went out on loan to Maritzburg United. The 36-year-old has revealed how Mosimane courted him and ended up forcing his way to SuperSport.
“I arrived at SuperSport in January. We played Sundowns with three or four games to go in that season. On the team bus, my phone rang and it was Pitso,” Brockie said on Mike Morton on Football.
“When I answered I did not know who it was, and Pitso said ‘Hey JB, it’s Pitso’. Then I told him it was probably not a good time to speak now. So within four months of me being there, that is when the phone calls and those types of things started to happen.
“If I remember back then, I ended up handing in a transfer request to leave SuperSport. I did not want it to get to that stage. It happened at the end of the season after Stuart Baxter left and Eric Tinkler came in.
“The club knew that Sundowns were interested in me and they said ‘Win us another trophy then we’ll let you go if you want to go. We ended up winning the Nedbank Cup at the end of that season.
“SuperSport said if an offer comes, you can go. Then Eric got the job and said ‘Jeremy is not going, I want to build the team around him’. Then they came back and said if an offer comes, I’m not going.
“I told them: ‘I understand that. I am ready to stay at SuperSport for the rest of my career, and I am not asking you to match the salary that Sundowns are offering, but can we meet halfway in between what I am on now and what Sundowns are offering’.
“The club said yes, we’ll do that, but only as soon as the transfer window is closed. There was still some weeks before the transfer window closed and I asked why I had to wait until the transfer window closed.
“I thought they would wait for the transfer window to close and probably not offer me anything and I can’t go anywhere.
“It came to a head and it got pretty ugly and nasty. When I look at that, it probably wasn’t a very professional thing to do but I had my reasons for doing it,” Brockie explained.
