Teko Tsholofelo Modise (born 22 December 1982), nicknamed The General and Techno M, is a South African retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, former

Bafana Bafana The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international soccer and it is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for Soccer in South Africa. The team's nickname is Bafana Bafana (The Boys ...

captain who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and who is currently a staff member at Cape Town City Football Club. Regarded as one of the greatest PSL players of the modern era today, Modise's career began in the lower leagues of South African football with Ria Stars and City Pillars. During his time with the latter, he won the Mvela Golden League Player of the Season award, which earned him a move to top-flight side SuperSport United in 2006. The following season he joined local rivals

Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...

with whom he spent six years, winning two

PSL Footballer of the Year The PSL Footballer of the Year in South African football is awarded to the most outstanding player of the season across the domestic league, the South African Premier Division, and the three major cup competitions, the MTN 8, the Telkom Knockout a ...

awards, including the inaugural award, and two club honors. Whilst at Pirates, he earned the nickname ''"the General"'' for his ability to direct play and soon became a regular within the national team set-up. Following a falling out with club management in 2011, he transferred to

Mamelodi Sundowns Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premier Soccer League, the first tier of South African football ...

where he spent a further six years and won no fewer than five club titles. He also captained the side for the 2012–13 season. In 2017, he chose not to renew his contract with the club, electing instead to sign for

Cape Town City A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

where he remained until his retirement in 2019. Modise also made 66 appearances for the South Africa national team between 2007 and 2012, and represented the nation at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

tournaments.

Early life

Modise was born in Meadowlands, South Africa. He is the youngest of three siblings and was raised by his mother in

Diepkloof Diepkloof is a large zone of Soweto township in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is also sometimes referred to as Diepmeadow, if considered as a single township with the nearby Meadowlands (although there is Orlando in between). Diepkloo ...

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

. He was introduced to football as a toddler through his father who was a Kaizer Chiefs supporter, but lost contact with him when he was ten years old. During his formative years that followed, he played for local amateur sides Coventry and City Rebels before joining Ria Stars at the age of seventeen.

Club career

Ria Stars

Modise signed for Ria Stars in 1999 after being scouted by former

and Kaizer Chiefs defender, Steve Mnguni. He made his PSL debut two years later in a 1–1 draw with

Bidvest Wits Bidvest Wits Football Club, (simply often known as Wits University F.C. or Wits) was a South African professional football club from Johannesburg which played in the Premier Soccer League the first-tier of South African league football system ...

on 2 September 2001. It was his only professional campaign with Ria Stars, however, as at the end of the season the club became defunct after being bought out for R8m by the PSL.

City Pillars

Following the termination of his contract with Ria Stars, Modise signed for Mvela Golden League side City Pillars. He made over 60 league appearances for the club between 2002 and 2006, during which time he scored regularly, and won the league's Player of the Season award in May 2006. Modise also helped the club to a last-16 finish in the

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's premier club soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of giving lower league and amateur teams a chance t ...

where they were ultimately eliminated by Kaizer Chiefs despite him scoring a brace.

Supersport United

In August 2006, he returned to the PSL when he signed for SuperSport United, managed at the time by ''

'' assistant coach

Pitso Mosimane Pitso John Hamilton Mosimane (born 26 July 1964) is a South African professional football manager and a former player. He is the current manager of Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli Jeddah. He is considered as one of the greatest coaches in Africa an ...

. He spent a solitary season with the club before signing for rivals

in 2007.

Orlando Pirates

Modise signed a three-year contract with

and in his debut season won the inaugural

award and was also named SAFA Footballer of the Year. The following season, he led Pirates to a runners-up finish in the league, losing out on goal difference to SuperSport United, and in the

Telkom Knockout The Telkom Knockout was a South African professional football knockout competition which comprised the 16 teams in the South African Premier Soccer League. The competition was established in 1982 and was first known as the Datsun Challenge. Unde ...

. His form during the course of the season saw him retain the PSL Footballer of the Year and SAFA Footballer of the Year awards and also earned him the Player's Player of the Season title. Modise's local success caught the attention of a number of foreign clubs and in the off-season he was linked with a move to

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

sides Aston Villa, Man City and

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

. Modise had no buyout clause in his contract, however, and the club refused to sell him, resulting in his relationship with coach

Ruud Krol Rudolf ("Ruud" or "Rudi") Jozef Krol (; born 24 March 1949) is a Dutch former professional footballer who was capped 83 times for the Netherlands national team. Most of his career he played for his home town club, Ajax, and he became a coach ...

and chairman Irvin Khoza souring in the two year's that followed. He was suspended for boycotting training in 2011, later revealing that he had done so because of the way the club had treated him.

Mamelodi Sundowns

Following Pirates' decision to discipline Modise, speculation was rife that he would leave the club, and on 27 January 2011 he signed for rivals

. Following Sundowns' appointment of Pitso Mosimane as head coach, Modise was named club-captain in his second season at the club. He was stripped of the armband for the following campaign in favour of Alje Schut but helped the team to the 2013-14 Premier Soccer League trophy, scoring in a 3–0 win over SuperSport United on 8 May 2014 to secure the title. At the end of the 2014-15 Premier Soccer League, 2014–15 season, in which he made 32 appearances across all competitions and scored eight times, he was named

Player of the Tournament and PSL Midfielder of the Season. Modise ultimately amassed over 150 appearances across all competitions for the club and in his final season was part of the squad which won CAF Champions League, after a 3–1 aggregate win over Egyptian side Zamalek SC, Zamalek. On 27 June 2017, he was released from his contract by Mamelodi Sundowns. During his time with the club, in which he earned a reported R450 000 per month, he won no fewer than six trophies, including two PSL titles, the Nedbank Cup, Telkom Knockout, CAF Champions League and CAF Super Cup.

Cape Town City

Having been a free agent for less than a month, Modise signed for fellow PSL side

on 12 July 2017. He made his debut on 23 August, coming on as a Substitute (association football), substitute for Mpho Matsi and scoring Cape Town City's third goal in a 3–1 win over Platinum Stars F.C., Platinum Stars.

International career

Having not previously represented South Africa at age group level, Modise made his debut for the South Africa national team on 26 May 2007 against Malawi national football team, Malawi in the 2007 COSAFA Cup. He scored his first international goals against Mauritius national football team, Mauritius during the tournament, which South Africa ultimately went on to win. Modise's form also earned him the Player of the Tournament award. The following year, he was named in nation's squad for the 2008 African Nations Cup tournament in Ghana. In 2009, Modise was selected for South Africa's squad for 2009 Confederations Cup, Confederations Cup and on 14 June 2009 he was awarded the Budweiser Man of the Match award in the opening game following a win over Iraq national football team, Iraq. On 24 May 2010, he captained South Africa on the occasion of his 50th appearance against Bulgaria national football team, Bulgaria. In doing so, he became the 27th player to captain the nation, and the fastest to reach the 50-cap milestone. He scored his tenth international goal three days later in a 2–1 Exhibition game#Association football, friendly win over Colombia national football team, Colombia. He was then selected for the

which was hosted by South Africa the following, but drew criticism after poor performances in the opening two matches. Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira dropped him for the subsequent match against France national football team, France, which South Africa won 2–1. Modise's last appearance for South Africa came on 14 November 2012 against Poland national football team, Poland. In all he made 66 appearances for the national team and scored 10 goals.

Post-playing career

After retiring at the end of the 2018–19 season, Modise continued at

working at the offices of the club. In September 2021, Modise returned to Chloorkop, where he spent arguably the most successful period of his playing career. He was named as a Sundowns ambassador, alongside former teammate Tiyani 'Shuga' Mabunda
Securing the Bag: Teko Is Mzansi’s Hardest Working Man
Modise also currently works as a matchday analyst for Suspersport TV

Outside football

Endorsements

During his time with Orlando Pirates, Modise was appointed ambassador by global company McDonald's for the

and also served as an ambassador for Coca-Cola, Nike, Inc., Nike, Telkom (South Africa), Telkom and Samsung. While sponsored by Nike, Modise was one of only ten global stars selected by the sportswear manufacturer to wear a limited edition pink Mercurial SuperFly boot. His global contemporaries included Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Didier Drogba, amongst others. In 2015, Modise left Nike and signed a sponsorship deal with Adidas. In 2016, while playing for Mamelodi Sundowns, Modise became a brand ambassador for motor vehicle manufacturer Volkswagen which saw him receive a 2016 Volkswagen Golf#Seventh generation (Mk7, Typ 5G; 2012), Golf GTI. Following his move to Cape Town City the following year he was endorsed by Lexus.

Personal life

In 2007, following his move to Orlando Pirates, Modise allegedly made a plea to be reunited with his father. He later denied the reports on local radio station, Radio 702. The reports nonetheless drew widespread media interest and saw Kenneth Ngobani, a resident of the surrounding township, claim that while he was not Modise's father, he had raised him after his step-father had kicked him out of the home he lived in with his mother. He claimed further that Modise's mother had not visited him during this time and that he had groomed him into the soccer player he would later become. Modise married his wife, Felicia, in 2010 in a marriage in community of property and they share a daughter together. After a protracted sage during which Modise was threatened with jail time for failure to pay maintenance, the couple divorced in 2013. Following the separation, Modise began a relationship with model Lizelle Tabane. Modise later proposed to Tabane but the engagement was broken in 2015 after rumours of infidelity surfaced against her. In 2014, reports emerged that Modise owed a friend R10 000 after he had promised him a job at Mamelodi Sundowns in order to borrow the money from him. Concurrent reports also indicated that he owed fellow footballer May Mahlangu more than R40 000 for designer goods he bought for ex-fiancé Tabane. The following year, Modise was forced to sell his home in the West Rand to a private buyer after he had defaulted on bond payments for a number of months. In terms of the agreement, he was allowed to continue residing at the property. In 2017, Modise released a tell-all book, ''The Curse of Teko Modise'', which highlighted rituals performed at his former club Orlando Pirates, among other revelations. In October 2021, Modise married influencer Koketso "Kokieberry" Chipane and the two are expecting their first child together. However, they had had a traditional wedding in 2018.

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Modise goal.''

Honours

Mamelodi Sundowns *Premier Soccer League: 2013-14 Premier Soccer League, 2013–14, 2015-16 Premier Soccer League, 2015–16 *

: 2015 *

: 2015 *CAF Champions League: 2016 CAF Champions League, 2016 *CAF Super Cup: 2017 CAF Super Cup, 2017 Orlando Pirates *MTN 8: 2010 MTN 8, 2010 *Telkom Charity Cup: 2008, 2009 Cape Town City *MTN 8: 2018 MTN 8, 2018 South Africa * COSAFA Cup: 2007 Individual * Mvela Golden League Player of the Season: 2005–06 *

: 2008, 2009 * COSAFA Cup Player of the Tournament: 2007 * PSL Midfielder of the Season: 2015 *

: Player of the Tournament: 2015 * Football Player of the decade - RSA: Setshaba Thamaga Independent Awards: 2017

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Modise, Teko 1982 births Living people People from Meadowlands, Gauteng South African soccer players Association football midfielders South Africa international soccer players 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players Ria Stars F.C. players Mpumalanga Black Aces F.C. players SuperSport United F.C. players Orlando Pirates F.C. players 2010 FIFA World Cup players Sportspeople from Gauteng