Tenacious midfielder, Tinashe Nengomasha was honoured by the Executive Chairman, Kaizer Motaung with a Chairman’s Award during the Players’ Awards held at Melrose Arch, Johannesburg last Friday.

‘General’ as Nengomasha is affectionately known in football circles joined the Glamour Boys in January 2002 and went on to become one of the best defensive midfielders to have donned the Kaizer Chiefs colours during the Premier League era.

He is also one of the most decorated players in the current squad and was part of the side that won back-to-back leagues during the 2003-2005 seasons.

“I came here as a boy and I am now a man. I am grateful to the Executive Chairman (Kaizer Motaung) not only for the honour but for giving me the opportunity to be part of this great team. I thought I was dreaming when the Chairman called me on stage to receive the award. The feeling I felt - I cannot put into words.

I would also like to thank all the players, current and those who welcomed me with open arms when I arrived at the Club as a youngster,” said an emotional Nengomasha speaking to kaizerchiefs.com over the weekend.

Nengomasha credits his success at Chiefs to hard work; “I remember the quality of midfielders when I arrived at Chiefs, Jabu (Pule), Stanton Fredericks, Patrick Mbutho and many others. I knew that this was not a place for me to rest on my laurels. I still continue to work hard even today because at Chiefs you cannot rest - not only because of the quality of players we have, but also because of the opposition. Teams want to do well when they play against Chiefs.

Meanwhile Tinashe Nengomasha paid a glowing tribute to his teammate, Siphiwe Tshabalala who walked away with the ‘Player of the Season’ award.

“He is a complete professional and deserves the recognition both at the Club and in the national team. He is one of our important players. One has to look at what he did on his game back from injury against Orlando Pirates. He never gave up and continued to fight even though it looked like the game was over. ‘Shabba’ understands the responsibility that comes with wearing the ‘gold and black’. I do wish that the youngsters take a leaf out of his book. I want to congratulate him and wish him all the best together with my teammates in the national team (Bafana Bafana) during the World Cup qualifiers,” added Nengomasha.