Coming back far too early from Europe remains one of the big regrets for Josta Dladla, but he had the time of his life showcasing his talent after leaving Wits University. In this interview with Soccer Laduma, the retired star shares his experience in Denmark with Aarhus GF.
Club played for
I was at Aarhus (AGF) for three seasons, but I think it should have been more. I came back because I was feeling home sick. The contract was still there, and (Mamelodi) Sundowns was in a building phase at the time. Motsepe had just bought Sundowns and the offer came and I was like 'I am missing home' and my agent came through. Sundowns made me a good offer. They bought me out of my contract. When you are young, you sometimes make silly decisions, and I chose to come back. It was not one of those things where you go there (to Europe) and fail. It was just me missing home and maybe I needed someone at home, or a mentor, to tell me that I should stay in Europe. People always say that you should not regret the decisions you make, and I try not to. It hits me every time when I look at how I left (Kaizer) Chiefs and how I left Sundowns. I look at it and think if I had just stayed overseas, I wouldn't have met up with the crazy things that have happened.
How the move to Denmark happened
I had just been promoted from the reserve side. Eddie Lewis saw me playing for the (Wits) Colts. I didn't even know that he was watching me. On that day, I think the first team was not training, so Eddie Lewis came through and he saw me playing. He asked about me and the rest was just history. From then, I'd train with the first team I think once a week. The first team was fighting relegation and he had to let go of some of us who were training with the first team, to focus on saving the team. I went back to train with the Colts, and he helped the team survive. There was a guy who came to coach after Eddie Lewis and then I signed a contract (with the first team). I did well in my first season. I think in my first season I got player of the season and top goal-scorer. People don't know that, and I was 19/20 years old. I think I got R5000 for the awards back in the day. Roger (de Sa) then took over and Hummel was a sponsor of Wits. Hummel was sponsoring a team in Denmark, which is AGF. Wits took my tape to Denmark, and they saw me and liked what I did. They invited me for trials. If I had made a decision to go to Chiefs or Pirates, because they were interested, maybe things would have been different. Even Jomo (Cosmos) was interested. I went to trials in Denmark. I was supposed to trial for seven days, but two days later they told me they want me.
My first day in Europe
It was crazy. I remember I was a young kid and I left home with nothing. I just took the clothes I had and some warm clothes. I got to Denmark, and it was cold. They sent someone to pick me up at the airport and he gave me this big jacket. It was like that jacket was wearing me because I was skinny back then, probably weighing about 55 kilograms. I remember newspaper guys were taking pictures and AGF were fighting relegation. They were asking how this skinny boy is going to save such a big team. It was a shock to my system because it was cold, but I was excited. It was the first time ever leaving my parents and I was staying at the hotel alone. It was exciting and I don't think I was nervous.
My debut
I was supposed to be there (on trial) for seven days. On the second day of my trial, they decided that they would keep me, but they would let me train with the young ones, so that they could bulk me up a bit and then I would probably start playing the following season. But, on the fourth day, the coach decided that I would not be going back home. They asked me to stay, and they said they would buy me clothes. They said they were signing me. That's how quick it happened. They spoke to Wits, and they agreed on terms. So, I stayed and basically left Wits in the middle of the season. AGF wanted to get me to be stronger and bigger by feeding me for a few months, but after four days they realized that they wanted to get me a visa, so that I could start playing. I missed the first weekend's game and then they registered me. The next week I started playing. I went in there and we won the game 3-1. I assisted two and scored one. People started taking note and probably thought they were wrong about me. From there, I never looked back.
The rands and cents
I am going to be honest. When I left Wits I was earning R8000. When Wits signed me, I was still in high school, but they knew what they were doing. They gave me R1000 while I was still in high school. That was a lot of money back then. I was buying CDs and food myself in high school. I got promoted and started playing and became one of the key members of the first team. Stanton Fredericks was still there. I did well in my first season and I went to the office to ask if they would take up my salary. Back then, the guys would get about R15 000 and maybe guys who played for Sundowns were on R25 000 and I was getting R1000. But then they took it up by R7000 and I started getting R8000 a month. When I left Wits, I was earning R8000. That was a lot for me. I went to Denmark and my first salary was 55 000 Danish Krones. That was about R110 000. That was my first salary. The first money I got I used it to buy clothes, shoes. I was buying And1 sneakers, And1 t-shirts. I had big Fubu jackets. I had Fubu shoes and Timberlands. I got everything that I wished to have. By the second week, I didn't have money. True story.
