Thabang Stemmer did not touch his first signing on fee as a footballer, revealing how much Orlando Pirates gave him before it went on to enhancing the lives of his grandparents.
Soccer Laduma got in touch with Stemmer to talk about the six years he had spent with the Buccaneers, where he won two Premiership titles.
The years
I was with Pirates for eight years. I was in the academy for two years, from 1998 to 2000. Then I was promoted to the first team from 2000 to 2006. It was a good experience at Pirates overall. I was part of the youth structures, and I was one of those players who were lucky to get promoted because there were a lot of quality players around. I was fortunate to reach my goal, which was to play for the first team. Playing for the senior team and representing my country at under-20 level and having a cap for Bafana Bafana was great. I was also fortunate to play in the Soweto derby. If you grow up in South Africa, many players want to play in the derby.
How the move happened
It all started at schools' football. I was with Benedict 'Tso' Vilakazi and Rodney Petlele and we were playing for our school Madibane High School. There was this competition called the KFC Cup. We beat all the schools and we represented South Africa in Peru. That's where we met coach Augusto Palacios. We finished third in Peru after beating Uruguay in the third place play off. At the time, the Pirates academy was not doing well, so he asked Palacios to re-establish the academy and he took all 18 players from our team. That was the foundation and they started building the Pirates academy. Then they started inviting players from all over the country to be part of the academy. Rodney Petlele was the first player from the academy to be promoted to the first team.
Who was in the team?
When I was promoted, there were some top players. I played with my idols. I was competing with Williams Okpara and there were other goalkeepers like Grant Johnson, John Tlale and Lucky Shiburi. In other positions, we had Gerald Raphahlela, the late Papi Khomane, Willem Jackson, Dumi Ngobe, the late John Moeti, Sibusiso Zuma, Phumlani Mkhize, Andries Sebola, the late Dennis Lota and Thabo Mngomeni. It was a team full of stars.
The rands and cents
The money was good. With us, Pirates gave us R3500 when we were in the academy. It was what they called stipend. They would put it in an envelope. Palacios would go to his car and get the envelope. I was doing matric and then I would take the money and give it to my grandparents because I was living with them. They would give me R150, and it was a lot of money, considering I was doing matric, and then they would use the rest for household things. I had no responsibilities. When I got promoted, my signing-on-fee was R60 000. I took R30 000, and I built my grandparents' rooms at the house. These were my grandparents from my mother's side. On my father's side, I gave them R30 000, and they refurbished the house. I did not even touch my first signing on fee. Back then, we used to sign five-year contracts. They used to give us stability. When you were young, they would give us five-year contracts and they would give us the same salary.
My debut
It was against Golden Arrows in 2001. I remember I was named man of the match after keeping a clean sheet. I think we won 2-0. I had top defenders in front of me. It was Gerald Raphahlela, Willem Jackson and the late Papi Khomane. Going past those guys was not easy. Raphahlela told me to just focus on the ball and not worry about anything else. Back then, supporters used to vote for man of the match, and I won it. I was 18 or 19 in the 2001/02 season. I was over the moon. I also got a lot of support from Williams Okpara.
The best player I played with
It has to be Williams Okpara. We shared a room in camp, and he taught me values about becoming a professional. He taught me to pray, sleep early and he spoke about the importance of being focused as a goalkeeper. It helped me a lot.
Most memorable moment
It has to be playing in the Soweto derby. I think we beat them 1-0 and Benedict Vilakazi scored. Our brand manager was Zodwa Khoza and she had a dream of seeing development players playing against Chiefs in the derby. It came true that day because we had about 11 players who had come through from the development in the matchday squad. It was very nice. Winning two league titles was also special and the BP Top8.
Lowest moment
Injuries were difficult. I had a few long-term injuries, like my finger and then my shoulder. Those are the lows, but injuries are part of football. But overall, I enjoyed my stay at Pirates. It was a good experience.
