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Secret footballer

Ill-discipline has long since cut-short the careers of many of South Africa’s most talented footballer­s, recently including the likes of Junior Khanye, Mbulelo “OJ” Mabizela and Masibusane Zongo, to name but a few. This month’s Secret Footballer tells of

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What the late Gift Leremi could have achieved …

Gift Leremi was supremely talented. He was arguably one of the most gifted footballer­s our country has ever produced, but he would never realise that potential. I remember the time when we were in the Unites States for the Concacaf Gold Cup with Bafana Bafana back in 2005. South Africa and Colombia were invited as guests of the North America, Central America and Carribean continenta­l championsh­ips, and then-coach Stuart Baxter selected an exciting team with a balanced mix of youth and experience.

It featured the likes of Calvin

Marlin, Lucky Lekgwathi, Lucas Twala, Elrio van Heerden, Reagan Noble, Lebohang Mokoena and Siyabonga Nomvethe, to name a few. Young Gift was seen as one of the most exciting future national team stars at that time – although, from the start of the camp, he had already been testing the boundaries. Our first game of the tournament was on July 7 against Mexico, which we won 2-1. After the match everyone was in good spirits because it had been a good start to the competitio­n, and Gift went up to the coach to ask if he could have a few drinks because the domestic season back home had ended and it would have been “off-season” had we not been with the national team. Naturally, coach Baxter wasn’t for the idea as there was still plenty of football to be played, but he assured that there would come a time, at a later stage in the tournament, when responsibl­e drinking would be allowed. Our second group game was in two days’ time, and Gift wasn’t keen on waiting a few more days so he went down to the hotel bar and – still in his team kit – ordered one of the tallest beers I had ever seen. He shamelessl­y sat there and enjoyed his beer, unafraid of the team security or any consequenc­es that were to follow. Alas, the next morning at training he was in trouble and was left out of the squad for the next game against Jamaica, which we ended up drawing 3-3, but he continued on that note throughout the rest of the camp. Sadly, it was probably a great opportunit­y for Gift to be seen by internatio­nal scouts and he ended up not playing in the tournament because of his behaviour, and because the coach was very big on discipline. I think that certainly disturbed the progress of his career. Yes, it might have been the Gold Cup, but you never know which agents or scouts could be watching.

If he had changed his attitude

and behaved differentl­y on that camp, he could have starred in that tournament ahead of the likes of Nomvethe and Van Heerden, so it could be seen as an opportunit­y missed for him. He could be commended for the fact that he initially asked for permission, but when he didn’t get the desired answer he still went forth and did what he wanted to do. Instead of admitting he was wrong and apologisin­g, he went on a rebellious run and started kicking and hurting his teammates in training out of frustratio­n because he wasn’t included in the team. We made it through the group stages and went on to draw 1-1 against Panama in the quarter-finals, but we lost on penalties and were knocked out of the competitio­n. If Gift had been part of the team, I’m sure we would have been a better side and could have progressed further, into the semi-finals and maybe even the final. But, for me, that almost set the tone for him as a footballer and I think his ill-discipline continued further into his career, which limited his growth. Yes, he still did well for Orlando Pirates and moved to Mamelodi Sundowns, but he could have gone much further if he had been a bit more discplined earlier on, and possibly have won a move to Europe. In sharing this story, the aim is not to talk badly about Gift, who sadly passed away in 2007, but to spread the message that discipline can take you further than you could ever imagine. May his soul rest in eternal peace.

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