After capturing a letter by Rulani Mokwena that had the potential to divide Mamelodi Sundowns dressing room, photographer Vino Snap has revealed his inspiration behind it.
In a Nedbank Cup final between Sundowns and Orlando Pirates last season, Khuliso Mudau got injured on his shoulder in the latter stages of the game.
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Former Masandawana head coach Mokwena had a decision to make and instead of substituting Mudau, who was heavily strapped on his shoulder and in pain, the 37-year-old coach pleaded with 'Sailor' to play through the pain.
Mokwena send a letter from the bench to the Bafana Bafana defender, which read; "I said I could take a bullet for you!! I am asking you not to give up on me!!"
If it was not for sports photographer, Pitsi 'Vino Snap' Matlou, the contents of the letter could not have been known, after even the TV cameras could not capture what the former Pirates coach wrote.
Matlou says he was determined on the day to snap one of the most iconic sports photography moments, that shook the country after he shared it on his socials.
"I myself have always been curious, that what are those coaches writing there? So on the day, coincidentally I changed positions and as soon as I saw the coach [Mokwena] writing, that's when the idea came, this is the moment," Matlou said in an interview on 947's MSW.
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"I tracked from the moment the coach took out his pen, to the moment he started writing. I remember after the game there was a visual from the TV of that moment but they could not get to the letter. I was focused, I could not care what was going around, I focused on the letter.
"From when he [Mokwena] called [Bathusi] Aubaas, reading the letter, I could get from Aubaas facial expression that there's something there. Then it got to Mudau, he was just next to me. He probably saw I was aiming for that but I did not even get it right in front. I was lucky enough to get it from the reflection of the sun and then I had to reverse it. It was never seen before," Matlou revealed.
The letter could have affected Mudau's relations with Mokwena's successor Manqoba Mngqithi and maybe even in the dressing room, after Mngqithi omitted the 29-year-old from a number of matches early in the season, stating that no player is guaranteed a place in his team.
The Soweto native coach could have eventually taken a bullet for Mudau, figuratively, after the match proved to be his last as a Sundowns coach.
