On to Israel
Fr ransman played for Kaizer Chiefs (above left) a nd Moroka Swallows (above) before spending fo our years abroad. Upon his return he went to S uperSport United, Bloemfontein Celtic, and fi nally Maritzburg United (below, descending), be efore joining his current team, Highlands Park.
After two seasons, Fransman made a 600 000 euro move to Hapoel Tel Aviv. “A much bigger club, more history, more expectation. It was massive. We competed well in the Champions League.”
“I’M DEFINITELY GOING TO PURSUE MY COACHING EDUCATION AS SOON AS I CAN.”
From that time Fransman still has the shirt of Raul, the Spanish superstar who had just joined Schalke 04, and Dutch striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar. He played against teams like Benfica, Olympique Lyon, PSV Eindhoven and Galatasaray.
Throughout this period, Fransman was in and out of the Bafana squad. He was in the squad at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ghana but did not play. “I was frustrated, I would have killed to have got a run at least. It was hard at the time to accept.”
Even more frustrating – heart-breaking to be fair – was missing out on the 2010 World Cup.
He played in a friendly against Namibia 100 days before the World Cup kick off but because he was at an overseas club, was unable take part in the training camps in Brazil and Germany. “That was a big injustice to a lot of players who were based at clubs outside the country in that they didn’t get the same opportunity to impress the coach and forge relationships as the locally-based players. I thought that put me at a big beating Sundowns 5-0 away. But to see the progress at Maritzburg was really fantastic.’
“I’ve been blessed with good genes. I tried to live as clean a life as possible but I’m not extreme. I know what to eat and what’s not good for me. Kids keep me busy and family has been a big blessing for me. I don’t do the partying and drinking and night life.
“Teammates ask me, ‘what time you go to sleep?’. I say, ‘9pm’. ‘So early? ‘You need to rest,’ I tell them.”
Fransman has lost four cup finals in his time, so has one immediate playing ambition. “One more crack at the cup, a bit of brightness at the end there!”
Then it will be coaching. “I had a kind of mind shift when I got to Maritzburg because there were so many youngsters in the squad and they needed looking after and guidance.
“I’d like to explore coaching further, I’d actually been applying for courses when the COVID-19 stopped all of that. Things have a way of working out but I’m definitely going to pursue my coaching education as soon as I can.”