Howzit, Diego? Been a while since we last got 'In Touch' with you. In fact, the last time we spoke to you, you were heading towards the end of your career, and now you are working as a coach. Looking back at the stories you shared last time, we think you might probably have a few more in your locker. Right?
Ha, ha, ha, I have too many stories! During my first year, I was coaching the U8 team. They are special and sometimes I try to think if I was just like them when I was eight years old. Bro, they don't listen at all! The most difficult thing for me is coaching my own son, ha, ha, ha. Shame, man, I am the hardest on him and, before we get out of the car, I tell him that I am his coach, he must not call me "Dadda" when we are out there on the field. Then one day, he replied by saying, "Yes, coach Dadda", ha, ha, ha. And then he was like, "Oh, sorry… I mean coach!" Everyone just started laughing.
Ha, ha, ha, that must have been such a cute and funny moment. What has it been like coaching your son?
Honestly, I don't want him to play football, ha, ha, ha. Or maybe I should not coach him. Now I have both my daughters also playing. I can't handle them playing, ha, ha, ha. For my son, I just always tell him to enjoy and that there is no pressure on him.
Really? You are coaching the whole family?
The whole family, baba. And it's not easy. One of my daughters is seven and she knows that I don't want her to play. The other one is four – she is my baby. She just wants to get into the kit and get one touch of the ball and then she is fine, ha, ha, ha… I can substitute her. But she is there for moral support for her brother and older sister, ha, ha, ha.
Great. That's the spirit they should be having from a young age.
What's interesting is that there is always something new when you work with children. Everyone wants to have their own attention. There was a day when we got a penalty in a game and everybody ran up to me to ask if they could take it, ha, ha, ha. In the end, I said our goalkeeper should take it, ha, ha.
That's hilarious. Did the goalkeeper at least score?
He missed the penalty, ha, ha, ha. Then the boys were like, "You see, coach", ha, ha, ha. That was a funny moment.
Well, that surely has to count as one of your worst decisions in your young coaching life. You've got to keep telling us more about your adventures of working with kids because your stories are crazy. What else can you share with us?
During my first year with them, there was something else, ha, ha, ha. So, most of the kids we got had never played or kicked a ball. In the league, we had no wins at all, ha, ha, ha. It was so bad that the kids themselves would come and say that we were going to lose, ha, ha. I even ran out of motivational talks, ha, ha, ha. But to be honest, I am a man of belief and it somehow happened that we got to the semi-final of a knockout competition. So, I played a trick that worked in our favour. I asked the (opposition) coach where his players' cards were. They had to produce their cards before the game and he said that they didn't have them. Then we won the game by virtue of them not having their cards, but we let the kids still play in a friendly match. That's how I led them to their first final, with no league wins, ha, ha, ha. We lost in the final on penalties, but being in the final was great for the kids.
Safe to say your (underhand) tactics got the kids to the final…
Ha, ha, ha. At least they were in the final. It's the least I could do after that season we had. And funnily enough, in the final they played above themselves, with belief.
Before we let you go, you've got to share one more story with our readers. Let's have one more good laugh, man…
One of the stories which stand out for me involves one of my boys at Seaside Spurs. He was giving me a tough time the whole week, telling me things like, "Hayi (No), coach, you are going to see this week." Then I said to him, "You always say that. Just enjoy the game." On the day of the game, the boy did his own thing now and I was shouting at him. Out of the blue, he said to his teammates, "But he said we must enjoy the game and now he is shouting." I didn't have any words, ha, ha, ha. I kept quiet...
There can never be any comeback from that, ha, ha, ha. Careful what you say to the players, especially at that age. Also, how do you deal with the parents of the kids? Surely, they don't always make life easy for you…
I think I'm an easy-going person and I am very approachable, so I make it easy for them. There was this one time, however, when we had a club function. Then the parents sent a message in the group, asking how they should get to the venue. I simply replied by saying that they should take an Uber. The following day or two, I saw that a few of them left the group, ha, ha, ha. If they were asking how the kids should get to the function, then I would have understood, but we are talking about an adult, ha, ha, ha.
Ha, ha, ha, at least them leaving the group meant you didn't have to deal with them anymore. Thank you so much for your time, Diego. It's been good having a laugh about your work with the kids.
Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.
IN TOUCH FUN FACTS
Nickname: Bongani
Marital status: Married
Car: Volkswagen Caddy
Boots: Mizuno
Favourite TV programme: Game of Thrones
Favourite food: Nachos
Twitter or Facebook: None
Siyagobhoza or interviews: Interviews
Favourite footballer: Kyle Jurgens
Favourite celebrity: Ivaan Plaatjies
