Mr Luthuli, we've finally managed to get you on this page after a long time. We recently had Jethren Barr telling us how much you love telling funny stories.
Yeah, Jethren is a good guy and ambitious as well. I used to argue with him. I remember he used to say to me, "You know, grootman (big man), I am telling you, I am going to go to (Real) Madrid", and I would always say, "You are dreaming." He went to Ireland (to play for Portadown) and I was like, "Yho, it's close to Madrid", ha, ha, ha.
Ha, ha, ha, you got him with that one!
Ha, ha, ha, yes. I liked teasing him because he is so ambitious. There were top goalkeepers when he was here. There was (Richard) Ofori and Bongani Mpandle. He would also get upset when the strikers would score at training, and everyone would be laughing. He took it so personal. And even when he was not playing, he would ask, "Why are they not playing me?" I remember we went to the (bio) bubble (during lockdown) and, if I remember well, we had about 20 players there. So, they would select the matchday squad and then the players who were not selected would be ball retrievers (ball boys). Remember, they didn't have the young boys to be ball boys because people from outside were not allowed, so they would get two or three players from both teams that were playing. I want you to have this story there because Jethren talks too much. So, after they checked the players' cards, Quintin (Jettoo, the club's football and operations manager) would come and there were bibs that I had which were written 'ball retriever'. Then Quintin would say, "Give one to Jethren." Jethren's name was always the first name, ha, ha, ha. In the change room, I would look at him to see his face. You could see that he was already angry and the players would start laughing. Then I would say, "Jethren, take your bib." Then he would start complaining and I would say, "Don't fight with me, go to Quintin. I am just a messenger", ha, ha, ha.
We can imagine. No professional footballer wants to be a ball boy, ha, ha, ha.
We played Wits at Tuks, so he was the ball retriever for that game. He played with most of the Wits boys during his academy days. They showed him on TV with the bib. He was so irritated because those boys saw him and laughed at him, ha, ha, ha. But he is a very nice boy. I was teasing him recently after the Bafana Bafana match, ha, ha, ha.
Sounds to us like you two have quite an interesting relationship.
Yeah, ha, ha, ha. I've been around in football for a long time. In 1996/97, I was young by then. I went to Manning Rangers for trials. Guys like Dan Malesela and Clinton Larsen were still playing. I was staying with these players. So, I went to trials there, but I was not taken. I knew they were having trials because I was staying with the players. I got a lift from Dan Malesela in his car. He was the captain of the club, so he went there to just watch. So, normally Dan would bring players from Pretoria to the club, like Billy Ratsoana. Gordon Igesund was still the coach at the time and the manager was Afzal Khan, so I had a trial there. I was not good. I was s**t. So, they said I should come back the following day because they thought I had been in a bus from Pretoria since I came with Dan. They didn't know I was from Durban. They thought maybe I was tired from the bus, so they said I should rest and come the following day. The following day, on a Sunday, I went there, and I was s**t, ha, ha, ha.
Ha, ha, ha, good to see you admitting how you excelled at being s**t. You don't find such brutal honesty these days…
Dan was there again with me on Sunday. Then they were like, "Dan, come here. Why are you dropping your standards? You are a guy who always brings good players." Dan was like, "Are you talking about the boy who is wearing Kappa clothes?" Then he said, "No, this guy stays with us there by the flats. He stays with the players. I didn't bring him from Pretoria." They were like, "You wasted our time with this boy."
So, what happened afterwards?
I was sitting there, and Afzal Khan was standing. I knew everything that was happening at the club. The guy who was the kit manager had left with Mike Makaab to join AmaZulu FC. So, I went to Afzal Khan and I was like, "I want this job of kit manager", and he was like, "What? You were just a player on trial and now you want to be a kit manager?"
Quite a big career decision, no wonder he was taken aback!
Ha, ha, ha. So, he said I should come in January because the league was starting in January. It was the NSL, which was from January to December, so this one was going to start in January and end in June, and then start again from August to May to like it is now. So, I came, and I worked in January and I was never told how much I would be earning. The players were complaining that they were paid half salaries and the chairman was like, "No, you started late in January. How must I pay you full?" The chairman was Kaycee Reddy. He was always fighting. He gave me R150, ha, ha, ha. He was like, "Here is your salary. If you want more money, you can go work in my garden", ha, ha, ha. I was like, "This one is crazy."
Let's hold it right there, we'll finish that story next week. Thank you so much for your time this week. Ha, ha, ha, we definitely cannot wait for Part 2!
Thank you.
IN TOUCH FUN FACTS
Nickname: Mzolisto
Marital status: Married to Portia
Car: Toyota Corolla Professional and Toyota Tazz
Boots: Puma
Favourite TV programme: The River
Favourite food: SA traditional food
Facebook or Twitter: Both
Siyagobhoza or interviews: Interviews
Favourite footballer: Zinedine Zidane
