From fallout to closure: Teko Modise on mending ties with Irvin Khoza

Fifteen years after his acrimonious departure from Orlando Pirates, former Bafana Bafana midfielder Teko Modise has revealed how he finally made peace with club chairman Dr Irvin Khoza, bringing closure to one of South African football’s most emotive fallouts.

Modise left the Buccaneers in 2011 to join rivals Mamelodi Sundowns following a breakdown in his relationship with then coach Ruud Krol and growing frustration over limited game time.

At the time, the midfielder admitted feeling more like “an asset” than a valued member of the squad, a sentiment that fuelled a bitter exit marked by disciplinary hearings and accusations of going AWOL.

Pirates eventually allowed Modise to leave, with Khoza confirming that the club would not stand in his way, bringing an end to a turbulent chapter at the Soweto giants.

The move to Sundowns proved pivotal. Modise revived his career at Chloorkop, collecting multiple trophies, including the CAF Champions League, and re-establishing himself as one of the league’s standout midfielders.

Yet, despite the silverware and success, the emotional weight of how his Pirates spell ended lingered long after his playing days there were over.

Speaking on the Car Wash 2.0 podcast, Modise revealed that he took it upon himself to seek closure by arranging a private meeting with Khoza a few years ago.

“I don’t think I ever got an opportunity to speak to him, especially when I was at Mamelodi Sundowns. We didn’t get an opportunity to speak to each other. I only met him once after winning the Champions League because he was part of the delegates that met us at the airport,” Modise said.

“But one thing I’ll tell you, which I don’t think I’ve spoken about publicly, is that I had a private meeting with him maybe two or three years ago. The meeting was supposed to be 30 minutes but it ended up being an hour or two hours. It was one of the best meetings I’ve ever had with him.”

For Modise, the meeting represented more than just reconciliation; it was personal healing.

“It was good for my soul because I asked to meet him,” he said.

“Now that I’m in a mature stage, I don’t think I left the team in the right way. I went back to apologise for the immaturity that I had because those were driven by emotions. Even though I wanted to leave, I could have left better. It was part of growth for me.”

The reflection offers a rare glimpse into the emotional maturity that often comes long after the noise of professional football fades.

For Modise, closure did not erase the past, but it allowed him to reframe it — not as a defining failure, but as a lesson in growth, accountability and the value of confronting unfinished business.

In doing so, one of South African football’s most polarising departures has finally found its ending.