Soccer South African Football Association Professional footballer South Africa

Teko Modise (born December 22, 1982 in Soweto, Gauteng) is a South African footballer, who plays for Orlando Pirates in the Premier Soccer League and South Africa.

Early life

Teko Tsholofelo Modise was born in Meadowlands, Soweto and was raised by his mother. He is the third in a family of three children (a brother and a sister).

Growing up as a child he supported Orlando Pirates' rivals Kaizer Chiefs.

Playing career

He spent most of his playing career in Limpopo playing for the now defunct Ria Stars and City Pillars, respectively. He was voted Mvela Golden League Player of the Season while playing for City Pillars during the 2005/2006 season.

In 2008 and 2009, he became the inaugural PSL Footballer of the Year.

Modise was recently appointed ambassador by global company McDonald's for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and also the ambassador for Coca-Cola,Nike,Telkom and Samsung.Teko is also targeted by English Premier League club Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic and AC Milan and Inter Milan both clubs might be interested to bid for Modise in the summer transfer window after the 2008/2009 season ends.

Further speculation mounted during the summer of 2009, when rumours surfaced that a number of clubs were considering an offer, including Manchester City, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Birmingham City. Modise admitted to Sky Sports News that an offer from Italy would be too difficult to refuse, citing fellow international teammate Steven Pienaar's influence as a key factor. However, an asking price of £4m may be to much.

International career

Modise first played for the South African team during the 2007 COSAFA Cup. He made his first appearance with the senior team on May 26, 2007 against Malawi. He was named to the S.A. roster for the 2008 African Nations Cup tournament in Ghana. He is also known as Jonas Andersen. He has currently played 33 games with the senior team and has recorded nine goals. Modise has been an instrumental player in many of Bafana Bafana's international matches. In 2008 he was nominated as the best african player during the season.

Modise was part of the South African squad that won the 2007 COSAFA Cup.

He did not play for any of the age-limit national teams in South Africa.On 14th June 2009, he was awarded the Budweiser Man Of The Match award in the opening game of the Confederations Cup 2009 against Iraq.

Source: Wikipedia