Jethren, we hope you are well. You know the drill, let's go for it!
Let me speak about the goalkeepers when I was still playing for Bidvest Wits. At the time, I was working with Moeneeb Josephs, Denis Onyango and Jackson Mabokgwane. They were all there in the team at the time and I was about 16 or 17. You must remember that I was a youngster and these were grown men, but the way they used to play jokes on each other was like they were children, ha, ha, ha. Denis and Moeneeb had this thing between them where they were always playing pranks on each other. There's one particular day where Moeneeb went into the shower. Denis was waiting for him to get into the shower so that he could take his clothes. So, Moeneeb went into the shower and Denis took his clothes. Denis is quite a big guy, but he wanted a bit more height. So, he went to Matthew Booth and asked him to put Moeneeb's clothes on a tree outside by the fields where we train…
Ha, ha, ha, now that's extreme…
Moeneeb walked outside naked, and he was like, "Bring my clothes, Denis! What are you doing?" He was butt-naked and Denis was laughing. Booth is tall, so he put the clothes right at the top there. Matthew was one of the serious guys in the team, but Denis was just roping him in. Denis was a crazy guy, but serious on the pitch. I don't know how Moeneeb got his clothes down from the tree, ha, ha, ha. Luckily for him, there was no one outside who saw him. It was just us, but he was holding something to cover his private parts. I can't remember what he was holding, but he covered up, ha, ha, ha.
Well, he must have used his acrobatic skills to get to his clothes up there. So, how did Josephs know that it was Onyango who took the clothes?
It's because they were always playing pranks on each other. He knew straight away that it was Denis. So, the next day, Moeneeb said he was going to get Denis back. There was a trash can and Moeneeb threw some leftover Powerade in there. He took the trash can and threw the stuff that was in there on Denis' car windshield and there was, like, eggshells in there and tissue paper. That's how he got Denis back, ha, ha, ha. It was a small trash can.
That's crazy. Onyango would not have seen that one coming. We wonder what his reaction was.
He wasn't happy and said that he took it too far. It didn't stop there. I think the next day they were stretching and then Denis took an ice-cold bucket of water and while Moeneeb was stretching, he threw it over him, ha, ha, ha. It went on. They played different pranks on each other, ha, ha, ha. Obviously, it was funny at the time. Footballers are always making jokes and that's just how they are, ha, ha.
They don't call him "Slim Kat" for nothing hey. He was also known for taking out his teeth (dentures) now and again…
Yes, I remember them falling out at training, maybe once or twice. I sat on the bench while I was there, so I saw those teeth a lot, ha, ha, ha. But to be honest with you, he was a guy who took his football and the team seriously.
As a youngster in the team back then, were you ever a victim of their pranks?
He'd say to me, "If you don't drop the ball for the whole training, then I have a surprise for you in my car." Usually, it was some money, like R300 or R400. I was earning small money at the time.
I won't say how much it was, out of respect for Wits, but it was small. So obviously, that R300 or R400 once or twice a week was helping. It motivated me. If I wanted to eat nicely after training, I would need to focus and make sure I don't drop any balls.
That was a great way of motivating you by your senior. But tell us, is it possible not to drop any balls during the entire session?
Yes, I did it, ha, ha. Sometimes I'd drop one and he'd say, "I'll give you half today" or something like that. The whole team used to play pranks on each other. Another funny character in the team was Buhle Mkhwanazi. Don't get me wrong, he is a good man of God, but he was crazy as well. We went to Stellenbosch for pre-season and Gavin (Hunt) used to make sure he woke us up at 05h00. It was cold and no one really wanted to wake up at that time. Buhle was the first one who would wake up and every day, during the camp in Stellenbosch, he would walk down the passage in the hallway, and he would start howling like a wolf so that we would wake up. You would hear him say, "Woooooooo", and he would bang on everyone's door, saying, "Come on, wake up! Let's go train!"
At 05h00 nogal? Ha, ha, ha. Imagine having that much energy so early in the morning.
Imagine! But that was Buhle. He liked to joke around. He was serious on the pitch, but he was a character off the pitch.
Thank you so much for your time this week and congratulations on getting married. We look forward to hearing what you have to share with us in the next instalment.
Thank you for the opportunity. I'll share some experiences from my time abroad.
IN TOUCH FUN FACTS
Nickname: Inkosi Yabelungu
Marital status: Married
Car: Mercedes Benz AMG Renault Kwid
Boots: Nike Vapour
Favourite TV programme: Outer Banks
Favourite food: Jeqe chicken
Facebook or Twitter: Twitter
Siyagobhoza or interviews: Interviews
Favourite footballer: Ederson
Favourite celebrity: Ederson
