Playing for Ted

Chiefs won successive titles under Ted Dumitru in 2004 and 2005 with Fransman featuring infrequently as he continued to learn his trade. “I enjoyed playing under Dumitru because everything was done with the ball. He had visited Brazil and come back with all these new ideas and new approach to training.

“For me it was a different way, everything was done with the ball from warm-up to end, so it was fantastic. But in all honesty with the team we had at the time, I think a lot of coaches would have won the league with that side.”

Fransman played second fiddle to Patrick Mabedi and Fabian McCarthy. “Again, I made my Chiefs debut through someone else’s injury. I came on for David Kannemeyer, someone who I had looked up to when I was a pikkie [young]. He was injured against Wits and I came on at left-back.

“It was the first time I’d ever played an official match at left-back and after that I’d say 90 percent of my matches for Chiefs were at left-back. I had played right back for the national U-23s before and Ted said to me, ‘you’ve got to go on for David. It’s on the left but it is the same as if you are playing on the right’. I said, ‘No, it’s not. You are using he opposite foot!’.”

Fransman’s last season at Chiefs was under Ernst Middendorp, but beset by injury, first to his ankle and then his calf. “I couldn’t get back into the team. I was 22 at the time and I knew I had to play regular football. Gavin Hunt called me to say he wanted me to come and join Swallows the next season.

“Funny thing is that I was still injured when he called, I’d had an operation and hadn’t played for a long time. But he still felt I could be a fantastic centre back for his team the following season and I said to myself, ‘you know what, take the chance, you’ve got nothing to lose’.”

Chiefs were not happy he signed a pre-contract but it proved the right move. Fransman went to Swallows for two seasons where he barely missed a game.

“I had a fantastic time there, I won Player of the Season in my first year and also at the end of that season I made my national team debut.”

In 2008, Fransman headed back overseas, this time to Israel. “The move came about quite fortuitously. At that time there were a lot of South African players in Germany; you had Delron Buckley there, Steven Pienaar at Dortmund, Sibusiso Zuma at Arminia Bielefeld. Then Siyabonga Nkosi and Rowen Fernandez. I spoke to my agent at the time to get me a similar move. It was also difficult to go to England with the work permit restrictions. I wanted to play in Europe.

“My video circulated around the clubs in Germany but they said I looked a bit light for a Bundesliga centre back, maybe the second division? I said I was unsure about that.”

But through the German connections, his video was seen by Lothar Matthaeus, legendary former captain of Germany who had taken up a post as sporting director of Maccabi Netanya in Israel.

“He invited me to have a look because I wanted to look at the place first because I didn’t know anything about Israel. But by the time I was ready to go over, the squad were

in Austria for their pre-season training, so I went there first. I signed three days later … without having still set foot in Israel.”

The club had qualified to play in the UEFA Cup and Fransman felt it would be a good shop window, so he decided to take the chance.

“I still wanted to go home from Austria and get a few things before going to Israel but I never got that chance. I went straight to Israel to start the season and I had to wait for an international break to go home and get my things.

“I must admit, It did take a few games to win the home supporters over. I was a South African out of nowhere who just came into the team. I realised I had to do much more than any local player. It was lot of hard work but it was rewarding.” disadvantage,” he says.

“I always thought I had a shout to get into the side. I was always knocking at the door. All the players knew the World Cup come was coming and wanted to put their hands up.”

But after the friendly against Namibia in Durban, Fransman heard no more from Carlos Alberto Parreira. “It was just dead silence.”

It meant although he was home for holidays he couldn’t bring himself to watch any of the World Cup. “I was so disappointed, I didn’t bother. It’s not something any player wants to go through, watching a World Cup in your own country from the sidelines.”

In 2012, Fransman returned home to sign for SuperSport United and has since donned the colours of Bloemfontein Celtic, Maritzburg United and Highlands.

“They were each different. At SuperSport we had a good side but one or two positions short of being league contenders. I tore ligaments in my ankle which also put me out big time.

“I enjoyed myself at lot at Maritzburg, not to take away anything from the other teams. We had great nights with Celtic too, like