Hola Abednigo, it's your turn on the popular 'In Touch' page this week, and we hope you have funny stories as good as your skills on the football field. Get the point?
Yes, I've seen it (In Touch) before, so I know what it's all about.
That's a great start. No need for instructions. As the 1990s PSL coaches used to say, "Just go out there and enjoy yourself." Ha, ha, ha. What do you have for us?
Let me see… (Starts thinking) I remember when I was playing for Wits, coming up from the youth ranks. I had just been promoted and we played in the Nedbank Cup against Magesi FC from Limpopo. It was not a tough game. I was not playing a lot at the time, but I was on the bench and I knew that I would get an opportunity to play that game. I remember it was a night game and it was raining. The guys who were playing were falling on the pitch. Our coach was Gavin Hunt and he always emphasized the importance of having the right boots. He would tell us that if we did not have the right boots, he would fine us R5 000 from our salaries…
You slip, you lose!
Yeah, ha, ha, ha. So, he was going on and on. You know how he is on the bench. So, he was saying, "Anyone who does not have the f***ing right boots on, I swear I am going to fine you R5 000!" He turned around and looked at the bench and he said to us, "Make sure you have the right boots when I bring you on." He was talking to everyone at the time. Moeneeb (Josephs) was on the bench that day and he came to me and asked if I had the right boots with me. He asked me if I had other boots and I said no. So, at half-time, he gave me his boots. He had many pairs of boots, but there was a problem…
Hmmm, what was the problem now?
I wear size 7 and Moeneeb wears size 9. There was no one else to give me boots and we had to do it quickly so that the coach would not see us, ha, ha, ha. So, he gave me his size 9. Actually, I think it was 9 or 10 and I told him they were too big. I took them and then he offered me two pairs of thick socks for me to wear. I put on my socks, and then I put on two of Moeneeb's thick socks on top of those. Then he got another pair from Daine Klate, so I had four pairs of socks at one time, just to cover that space in those boots, ha, ha, ha. I remember the guys were laughing at me, but I ended up having a good game. I made two assists, but the guys were roasting me on our way back to Jo'burg. It was such a funny moment, ha, ha, ha.
Crazy stuff. Moeneeb a man with a plan. He had to put his Mitchell's Plain thinking cap on, for the benefit of his teammate. What a selfless act from a top guy. Well the cherry on top is that you went on to have a good game.
Ha, ha, ha. My brother, I could not risk losing R5 000 on my salary.
It must have been a good lesson though. So, let's keep going. We want to hear much more…
When I was at Cape Town All Stars, we had Patrick Mabedi as our coach. He is one of the best coaches I have worked with, but he could sometimes be harsh. He did not always care about how you felt. One of the players who used to struggle with him was Linda Bhengu. There was this one time when Bhengu was missing a lot of chances, so during the game, Mabedi was shouting at him. For some reason, he used to call him Mr Bhengu, I don't know why. Every time Bhengu was missing chances, he would scream from the bench and say, "Mr Bhengu, how much are they paying you?" Ha, ha, ha. "Just tell me how much they are paying you." Eish, that affected Bhengu so much.
Shame man, we can imagine. It's true when they say this game is not for the faint-hearted.
I think we drew that game. After the match, he went to Bhengu and shook his hand. Then he said, "Mr Bhengu, thank you very much", then he just left him like that. I remember Bhengu was crying and we tried consoling him. The funny thing is that a day or two after, Mabedi held a meeting with all of us and he said, "Guys, I need you to open up. Don't be afraid to voice your opinions or anything like that." Then he asked what we needed to do as a team to get to where we wanted to be. He said we should not be scared. Then he said, "There is no wrong answer." So, Bhengu raised his hand and said, "Coach, I feel like some of us are nervous and we are afraid." Then Mabedi's face changed, and he said, "Bhengu, I feel like it's time for you to go sell ice-cream, because if you are in this job and you are afraid, then it's time for you to go sell ice-cream." It was funny because he said there were no wrong answers, ha, ha, ha.
Ha, ha, ha, Mabedi and Bhengu seemed like an interesting combination for coach and player, judging from what you're telling us.
Yeah! I mean, as soon as Bhengu admitted (that some players were nervous and afraid), then he changed and said that the guy should go sell ice-cream. There are quite a few stories from the time I spent with Mabedi there.
Hold it right there for now. Go sell ice cream in the meantime, but be sure to be back to share those awesome stories next week.
Ha, ha, ha. Okay, thank you.
By Tshepang Mailwane
IN TOUCH FUN FACTS
Nickname: DJ Hot Chocolate
Marital status: Married
Car: VW Polo 6
Boots: Puma
Favourite teammate: Jairo da Silva
Favourite roommate: Alan Robertson
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite footballer: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best friend in football: Paseka Sekese
