Aaron Mokoena's story of playing abroad is well known, but few may be aware of the fact that he was once teammates with Michael Ballack and Ze Roberto in Germany at Bayer Leverkusen and that he turned down an offer from Wolverhampton Wanderers to join Portsmouth.
Soccer Laduma got in touch with the former Bafana Bafana captain to talk about his incredible journey in Europe, which saw him in the final of the oldest knockout competition - the FA Cup.
The clubs
I actually left South Africa in 1998 to Germany to play for Bayer Leverkusen. And then I went to Ajax Amsterdam. I then went to Belgium to play for Germinal Beerschot and Racing Genk. So I played for two clubs in Belgium. Then in 2005, I then went to England to play for Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth.
How the moves happened
I signed a three-year professional contract with Leverkusen, but then I had first gone to Ajax Amsterdam for trials. That was before I signed for Leverkusen. I made it at Ajax and they wanted to sign me. The negotiations were ongoing between Jomo Sono and Ajax on my behalf. I remember in January I played in France with the national under-23 team in the Toulon tournament. Germany were there scouting players and that's where I got scouted and Leverkusen wanted to sign me as well. Jomo opened negotiations with Leverkusen and he then thought the offer from Leverkusen was better than the one from Ajax. So, I signed a three-year contract with Leverkusen and then Ajax came with a counter offer, only to find that I had already signed with Leverkusen. I didn't play at Leverkusen and I was unhappy there and then Ajax came through again to sign me and I decided to go there, while I had a contract with Leverkusen. To cut the story short, Ajax ended up buying me from Leverkusen. I didn't stay in Germany for long. I was there from pre-season, around July, and I was there for about five months because I was insisting that I want to go to Ajax, who ended up buying me. At the time, Leverkusen had the likes of Michael Ballack and Ze Roberto. Those two names were quite popularly then. From Ajax, I went to Belgium. I was still under contract with Ajax and they had like an injection club in Belgium, which is like what they had with Ajax Cape Town. They wanted to strengthen that team and get that team to do well in Belgium. They asked me to go help that club because I was playing for the Ajax Reserves at the time. I hadn't graduated to the first team, so for experience, I had to go to that club and I became captain of Germinal Beerschot. and Racing Genk realised that my contract was about to end with Ajax and they came knocking to look for my signature. In 2005, Mark Hughes was the coach of Blackburn Rovers, so he came to watch me playing in Belgium and he liked what he saw. I then went to Blackburn for like a three-day trial, just to really see if I liked it or not. So, it wasn't really trials. I liked it and then they bought me from Racing Genk. I was at Blackburn for about four years and Wolves were interesting in my signature, and Portsmouth as well. I went to Wolves and I didn't like the area, to be honest. They were a good club, but I didn't like Wolverhampton. I chose to play for Portsmouth and I became the captain there. At Portsmouth, you had the likes of Nkwankwo Kanu, Benjani Mwaruwari and John Utaka. So, I thought because of the history and support Portsmouth had, I should join them. That's what enticed. They also had quite a few African players and I felt that I would feel at home.
The rands and cents
When I left, the German currency was German francs. For a youngster, the money I was getting was quite enough.
My first day in Europe
It was really tough. I remember I went to join them (Leverkusen) in July and they were in pre-season in Switzerland. Luckily, I was quite fit, but I must tell you that the pre-season was awful. We had to wake up in the morning and go for an hour run in the bush and then come back, take a shower and have breakfast. Around 11h00, we would go for in-field training and then shower after and have lunch. Then around 15h00, we would another session. For, in one day, we would train three times. I was so lucky because I was fit. But I honestly didn't like living in Germany. I was almost 18 and I had to live by myself. I did not know how to drive at the time, so they bought me a bicycle to ride from my apartment to training. I did not know how to cook and how to drive, so I was absolutely home sick. I could not cope with that.
My debut
I didn't even play a single game for the first team at Leverkusen. I only played for the reserves, I think two games. I can't remember my debut at Ajax, but I remember playing as a right back. At the time, I was a flexible as a footballer, so I could play centre back, central midfield and at right back.
The best player I played with
That's a tough one. I would say Tugay Kerimoglu. He was a Turkish international, a midfielder. He was one exceptional player. We didn't stay too far from one another, so at times we would go to training together. Just an hour drive with him in the car, he would smoke at least 15 cigarettes. When we had to play away games, we would stay in hotels, so they would get him a smoking room. Mark Hughes had accepted that he was a smoker. But I am telling you, he would run more than anyone. He and Brad Friedel were the oldest in the team. But I am telling you, as much as he was a smoker, he would run more than anyone. He scored some amazing goals while I was there and the team clicked whenever he was on the pitch.
The best player I played against
I played against a lot, but Emile Heskey stands out. WHen I was with the national under-23 during the Toulon tournament, we played against England. England had the likes of John Terry, Steven Gerrard and Heskey was also there. It was the under-23 tournament and he was one of the toughest strikers I played against.
Biggest highlight
My best moment was when I played in the FA Cup final (in 2010). That was one of the best moments. Also, scoring the goal of the season at Blackburn Rovers was also great. I had quite a few good moments, but those two stand out.
Worst moment
I think when I had to leave Leverkusen to Ajax. Leverkusen did not want me to leave and Ajax were persistent to get my signature. The matter had to be resolved by FIFA. I couldn't play football for at least six months while the matter was being resolved. I was only training and that was frustrating, especially as a youngster. That was my worst moment in my football career.
