Son’s mission to honour dad
SOCCER stars of the South African Soccer League era spent some nostalgic moments together last week when they gathered to meet and share stories of days gone by with Tanswell Jansen, the son of Puzzy Jansen.
Tanswell, who lives in Cape Town, was in Durban for a brief stopover after he called former Verulam Suburbs stalwart Vincent Pillay to set up the meeting.
“Puzzy played professional soccer for Cape Ramblers in the ‘60s and I called a couple of the players from that era and those who watched him play to meet at none other than Curries Fountain – the hub of non-racial football,” said Pillay.
“Tanswell, who was not born when his dad played in the early ‘60s, and had only heard stories told by Capetonians about his father’s professional soccer playing days, wanted to know more about his dad. It was a fruitful meeting as Blondie Campbell had some vivid memories to tell about the great goals he scored back in the day.”
Contacted by phone after returning to Cape Town, Tanswell said he had made it his mission to learn more about his dad’s soccer playing days.
“Dad always spoke about the games he played at Curries Fountain and the huge crowd of supporters that came to watch the matches.
“This intrigued me and I Google-searched Cape Ramblers and found nothing. Even the Cape Town newspapers that used to cover the non-racial professional league back then have folded and it’s difficult to access their archives. I found the SA Fed Legends website and made contact with the guys to set up a meeting,” said Tanswell.
“My aim is to do a minidocumentary on my dad’s life that I want to unveil on July 2 when he celebrates his 80th birthday.”
Theatre personality and former sports journalist during the early 1960s, Ronnie Govender said Puzzy was a ball player.
“He was ahead of his time. He could dribble his way through but would rather distribute the ball. He was deceptively fast.
“However, besides his skill on the soccer pitch, I will always remember him as a gentleman. He, together with other players during the non-racial era of professional soccer, were not paid a princely sum but they made every effort to keep the league alive because of their commitment to a non-racial and democratic South Africa,” said Govender.
Puzzy Jansen, who used to dazzle with his nifty footwork as a centre-forward for Cape Ramblers and later served as manager for Cape Town Spurs, is still involved in football.
He coaches the Milano FC junior side in Cape Town.