Vuyolwethu Andrieas has spoken of his pride at making his professional debut after becoming the latest player to emerge from Stellenbosch FC’s development pipeline.
Andrieas made his senior debut for Stellenbosch on Tuesday when he took to the field as a second-half substitute for Mthetheleli Mthiyane during the Club’s Betway Premiership encounter against Orlando Pirates.
“It was a dream come true,” Andrieas says. “I was anxious when I found out I was coming on at half-time, and I could feel it in my stomach, but Coach Gavin came to me and told me just to go out and do what I do every week in training.
“I decided to treat it like any other game. Orlando Pirates is a big team, but it’s just a badge, and in the end, it’s eleven humans playing against eleven other humans on the field.
“I just had to take it one second at a time and work my socks off to show the coach that I deserved the chance he gave me. I had to show him and the crowd that came out to watch us that I have something in me.
“I still have to keep working, though, because one game doesn’t mean I’ve made it. It’s a big step up from playing in the DStv Diski Challenge, and this is only the start of my career, but my performance gave me pride and confidence that I belong at this level.”
Overcoming adversity to become a professional footballer
Andrieas’ journey to the topflight was not a straightforward one, as the Gugulethu-born youngster, one of four siblings in a single-parent household, had to overcome a challenging upbringing en route to becoming a professional player.
“I started playing football when I was around eight or nine and then joined a local club when I was 15. That was when I started taking football seriously because I saw that I could maybe put bread on the table with the talent God has given me,” he shares.
