Olwethu Makhanya's Journey: From Overlooked to Rising Star

Olwethu Makhanya did not hide how bruising his time under Hugo Broos felt.

Now a rising defensive presence at Rangers and widely viewed as one of South Africa’s brightest exports, he still spent most of the recent FIFA World Cup in June watching from the bench. For a player in his trajectory, that stung.

The arrival of Pitso Mosimane as Bafana Bafana head coach has changed the mood. For Makhanya, it has also reopened a door he felt was slowly closing.

"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," he told SABC Sport. No sugar-coating. Just a blunt assessment of his place in the Broos era.

Feeling overlooked and misunderstood

Broos’ spell in charge was marked by more than just selection debates. One of the recurring flashpoints was his view of Major League Soccer, the league where Makhanya sharpened key parts of his game before moving to Europe.

The Belgian questioned the level of competition in the American top flight. Makhanya never bought into that narrative. To him, it was not only harsh, it was uninformed.

"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.

That line cut straight to the heart of his frustration. He felt judged not just as a player, but through a distorted lens of the league he came from.

Defending his path, ranking his leagues

Makhanya has seen three very different footballing worlds up close: the Scottish Premiership with Rangers, MLS in the United States, and the Betway Premiership back home.

Asked to stack them, he did not hesitate.

"Honestly, if I were to rank them, I'll put the Scottish Premiership first, second is the MLS, and the Betway Premiership is third."

That order says plenty. It underlines the intensity and edge he has found in Scotland, but it also doubles down on his respect for MLS. In his mind, it is a league that deserves far more credit than it gets in South African football conversations.

Now, under Mosimane, Makhanya is chasing something simple: a fair shot, judged on current form and the defender he has become, not the league he once played in.