Shaun Bartlett did not have the most conventional road to the Premier League, but after arriving in England, the Bafana Bafana legend made it count. The Cape Town Spurs head coach sat down with Soccer Laduma to look back on his time with Charlton Athletic in the English top flight.
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Your spells in South Africa, America and Switzerland led you to London to play for Charlton Athletic. How did that move to England come about?
At the time, myself, Mark Fish and Lucas Radebe had the same sports lawyer who was based in London. Mark Fish moved to Charlton from Bolton Wanderers two weeks before I arrived. Unfortunately for the player involved in the move, their striker picked up a virus and was physically unable to play anymore, so they needed a striker on loan for the rest of the season. My lawyer just put my name forward and their assistant manager came, a couple of times, to watch me play in Zurich and that's how the move came about. It's only after I signed for Charlton that news was disclosed to me that Crystal Palace were also interested. They made a bid to buy me from [FC] Zurich, but I chose the loan spell instead of the Palace option because they were in the First Division and not the Premier League.
You made a massive bang on your full debut for the Addicks, bagging a brace against EPL giants Manchester United. What did scoring on such an occasion feel like?
It was a bittersweet moment for me. Growing up, the only teams we knew were the likes of Man United, Everton and Liverpool, and I obviously supported United as a youngster and even during my time in England. I even went to go watch them play. When Quinton [Fortune] was there, I would drive up to Manchester and go watch him play. My wife asked me what I was going to do when I scored, and I asked if she's mad. They had won the [UEFA] Champions League, FA Cup and league the year before. But yeah, I managed two headers against them on the day. After the match, the thing that amused me the most was that Quinton Fortune was more upset about the fact that they didn't take his advice when he told them, 'Do not allow this guy any space in the box because he's very good with the head'. But it was one of those things that were bittersweet for me as a professional footballer.
You played with some future England internationals during your time at The Valley in Scott Parker, Paul Konchesky and Luke Young. Did you see them having the careers they went on to have?
Without a doubt. When you get to train and play with players that have great quality, you know they are destined for greatness and Scott Parker was one of those, without a doubt. I am still in contact with him and we have a great relationship because we used to stay on the same estate and I used to drive together with him to training. I always knew, with his ability, he would go to a better team. Even the club, it was one of those clubs that groomed youngsters, like West Ham in the old days, to sell to bigger teams. Him and [Paul] Konchesky, these guys were always destined to play at a higher level.
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Of the five years you spent in England, which defender gave you the toughest time?
As a striker, you obviously don't like the defenders that are always kicking at your heels and those that are too physical, those were the ones who made your life difficult. John Terry, for me, is without a doubt the toughest defender I faced. Whether it be aerial duels or tackles on the ground, you knew you were in for a tough test.
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