Kopano, compliments of the New Year. Thanks for taking time out to have a bit of a January giggle with us.
Thank you for having me.
We know you spent some time at Orlando Pirates and must have had some funny moments while you were there, considering the characters that were in the team.
Yes, there were some moments that I can remember during my time with Pirates. There was a time when I travelled to Libya with the team for one of the CAF matches. I was sharing a room with Siyabonga Mpontshane and we heard gunshots late at night coming from outside the room. After hearing the gunshots, Mpontshane hid himself under the bed, ha, ha, ha.
Ha, ha, ha! Goalkeepers are known for their bravery, but it seems Mpontshane wasn't about to take any chances this time around. So, here's an interesting question. What did you do while the man went to ground?
I was laughing at him. The gunshots sounded like they were close by, and it was late at night. But one thing I can tell you is that I did not go under the bed. I was just laughing the whole time, ha, ha, ha.
Ha, ha, ha. Turns out you were by far the braver one. Maybe you were just in the grip of what they refer to as 'gallows humour'…
Yes, ha, ha! But I got to realise that travelling in Africa is not easy, even with the food that you get to eat. I only travelled once with Pirates, but it was quite an experience. When I was there, I remember there was this fish that I did not want to eat. I looked at the fish… I think they call it carapau. I did not try that fish.
Hmmm, why not?
It's that fish that has eyes. They served it with the eyes and I did not like the smell. Some of the guys in the team were having it. Imagine looking at the eyes while you are eating the fish, ha, ha, ha.
So the fish was giving you the eyes. What did you end up having then?
There was rice, there was spaghetti and they had chicken as well. So, I had that as well because I wanted to stay far away from that fish, ha, ha, ha. But I enjoyed the time that I travelled with the team.
It sounds like your one and only trip with the Soweto giants into the 'jungle' was quite an experience for you. But let's move on and hear more about the time you spent with the Buccaneers…
When I was in the Pirates MDC (MultiChoice, now DStv Diski Challenge) side, I played with Katlego Ramonyai. He plays as a centre-back. So, whenever he dished up his food, he would leave it on the table and go somewhere else. While he was away, I would put sugar or salt in his food. So, let's say we were having rice and chicken – I'd take sugar and put it in his food, ha, ha, ha. Or, sometimes I would just put too much salt.
That's mad. We can only imagine his reaction upon finally settling down for his 'tasty' meal.
He would eat and then a few seconds later he would get angry.
Did he know that it was you?
Yes, he always knew that it was me, ha, ha, ha. To be honest, I was the guy who was the problem in the team, so I would do it to other guys in the team, like Thabiso Sesane. They knew that I was the problem in the team, and they would get angry. Then they would have to go dish up more food. The good thing is that they knew that I was just joking. It was cool because no one took things personally. We enjoyed being around each other as teammates. I was a person who liked pranking my teammates.
Well then talk to us about some of the other pranks you pulled on your teammates…
We had a boy who joined us from the development to the MDC side. I just don't remember his name. He plays as a goalkeeper. So, on that day, he was on the bench, and I told him to go warm up. I just said to him, "They said you should go warm up." So, he went to warm up, even though the instruction had not come from the coach, ha, ha, ha.
Poor young man. When you get to the first team, you are so hungry for that opportunity that you do whatever anyone tells you to do. So, in essence he was warming up for nothing?
Yes, ha, ha, ha. You know when you are from a certain division and you go to another division, it's like an initiation of some sort. I was giving him that introduction to the team.
Nice one! Did they not do that to you when you got to the first team at Pirates?
No, not at all. But one of the funny characters in the first team was Linda Mntambo. He would just dance, and he would just come in the morning and start making noise, ha, ha, ha. He has a good personality. He would wear interesting clothes, but they would suit him. I would look at him and wonder if the clothes he wore would suit me. I liked his style. He is brave when it comes to the clothes he wears.
He certainly is, and we bet "Figo" won't be short of options when he retires one of these days. Thank you so much for your time, Kopano. We also understand you've been without a club for some time, so we are hoping that you get an opportunity to sign for one of the PSL sides in the not-too-distance future. Hola!
Thank you so much for the opportunity, my brother.
By Tshepang Mailwane
