Siyabonga Nomvethe
Age is just a number for the experienced frontman
Maybe it’s his divine gift, maybe it’s the near 30-kilometre jogs from Gateway Mall in Umhlanga to KwaMashu, or maybe it’s something none of us will understand, but Siyabonga Nomvethe has shown longevity in football that few after him will ever surpass. Now turning it on for AmaZulu, the former Bafana Bafana striker has shown no signs of slowing down and had, by the time Usuthu beat Mbombela United 1-0 at Kwanyamazane Stadium on March 4, scored 13 league goals this season. It put him third in the scoring charts behind Thanda Royal Zulu’s Mhlengi Cele, who had scored 15, and five behind Royal Eagles’ much talked about Sedwyn George. The veteran is still showing extraordinary gallop and says he never imagined he would still be playing football at his age, but what was important for him was to remain disciplined. His first objective in football was to play in Europe, something he achieved when he signed for Udinese from Chiefs in 2001. “I never thought I’d still be playing football at this age. My main aim was to work hard and go to Europe and it happened – the rest has really been a bonus,” Nomvethe tells KICK OFF. “For me to stay disciplined was something I was taught at home by my parents and I took that into my game. My parents wanted to see me succeed and they knew that staying disciplined would help my craft. “But many people played a big role, especially coach Muhsin [Ertugral]. He had a massive impact on my career. When I was growing up as a young boy, I was not a fan of media attention. What was important was to focus on my career and the talent that God gave to me. “Between the ages of 20 to 23 years, the media attention was not something I liked and when Muhsin was my coach at Chiefs he banned young players from speaking to the media.” Bhele, who is the oldest player in the two top divisions still playing, has no intention of ending his career just yet and is bemused as to why people are obsessed about when he will retire. While the goals keep coming, he has no intention of calling it a day anytime soon. “This will not be my last year in football and I’ll still continue to play because this is my life’s passion,” he says. “If you look at the age I’m at, it’s very rare to see players play football who are still at the peak of their prowess. But God made it that way for me and I’m lucky. I feel like one of the chosen ones. “The late Shoes Moshoeu played until after my age and he was still performing. I’m still performing, and I’m still beating these youngsters and showing them how to play football with passion. “I’m not doing a favour to anyone, you have to work hard to be where I’m at and I don’t think I’ll retire anytime soon. I’ll continue because my legs are not giving in. “Of course, I won’t score week in and week out, but this just shows my dedication to the game and that if you want something, you can achieve it.” When the time comes for Nomvethe to end his playing career, he doesn’t know what he will do. Only being on the pitch makes him a happy man. In the past, Bhele had a team called Nomvethe Football Club
that competed in the ABC Motsepe League. It was a project started as something to give back to his community, but after mismanagement of funds, he decided to pull the plug. “To tell you the truth, I haven’t thought about what I’ll do at the end of my career,” Bhele says. “I always hear people saying, ‘When are you retiring?’ You can’t just throw the talent God gave to you if you are still performing. “As I said, it’s not that coaches are doing favours for me. When you consider my age, you notice how, nowadays, youngsters don’t work hard enough because most of them end up not earning a long-term contract in most cases.” Having worked with Ertugral, Paul Dolezar, Kosta Papic, Kjell Jonevret, Gordon Igesund, Steve Komphela, Carlos Queiroz, Jomo Sono, Stuart Baxter and Carlos Alberto Pereira, Bhele can’t choose his best coach, but all of them had a major impact on his career. “All those coaches I worked with had a positive impact on me,” he says. “I talk of Malombo Sibiya, Muhsin Ertugral, Paul Dolezar and Gordon Igesund, there’re a lot of coaches who had an impact on me. “Even now, [current AmaZulu coach] Joey Antipas is drumming his input in pushing me to work hard and he doesn’t give me any special treatment because of my age, no. I have to lead by example to younger players all the time.” On May 27 2012, Nomvethe was the biggest winner at the Premier Soccer League awards, walking away with the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot Award, PSL Player of the Season and the Players’ Player of the Season gong. These are achievements that for Bhele will stay long in the memory, along with scoring against Slovenia in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. “My greatest achievements are my awards of the 2011/12 season where I went close to winning my first PSL title [with Moroka Swallows],” he says. “I’ll never forget that season because it showed that if you work hard, nothing will stop you.”
“I HAVEN’T THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT I’LL DO AT THE END OF MY CAREER.”