They told me to shut up

“I’ve been the best and not one of the best.”

“I can confirm that it was deliberate.”

Nothing can be more frustrating for a footballer than spending time on the sidelines due to a career-threatening injury, and this even worse when a player has been in the best form and in the latter stage of his career. It came as no surprise, then, when Bradley Ralani was left fuming after being on the receiving end of a horrible tackle from behind in a recent match against Baroka FC. Literally adding insult to injury was the behaviour of those from the opposition bench, whom he alleges condoned the incident instead of condemning it. Surprise, as the skillful player is known in football circles, opens up about the events that led to tempers flaring at the Peter Mokaba Stadium and why he was not keen to accept the apology afterwards. Ralani also speaks about his contractual situation at Cape Town City, while also putting the fans at ease as to how much longer he can still go in the game, considering his age. Read on as the tricky wing wizard speaks openly to Soccer Laduma’s Masebe Qina about these and other hot topics.

Masebe Qina: Surprise, you have been doing well and enjoying yourself on the field, which is good to see.

Bradley Ralani: Things are good, my brother, as you can also see with the results for the team. I think around this time last season, we were in a difficult position and fighting relegation. This season is much better and I’m very pleased with it. I’m very pleased with my personal performance also. Obviously, in football, you can never be pleased with everything and there’s always a room for improvement.

MQ: Cape Town City recently exercised the one-year option on your contract, which will see you stay with the Citizens until June 2022. How do you feel?

BR: (Laughs) Where did you get such information?

MQ: From club chairman John Comitis, as reported in edition 1208 of Soccer Laduma.

BR: I’m laughing because this is all new to me. I’d rather not say anything, and that’s why I’m laughing.

MQ: What do you know about your contract situation?

BR: I don’t know anything. I just know that my contract ends in June 2021, and further than that, I’m not going to comment, my brother.

MQ: So, you don’t know about the option on your contract?

BR: There is an option, but it hasn’t been exercised, according to my knowledge.

MQ: But you know that when there’s an option on the contract, the club can exercise it whenever they feel like it?

BR: Yes, I know that.

MQ: Maybe that’s what happened in your situation then…

BR: I think so, yes, but as for contract negotiations and anything else, we haven’t spoken at all. This year, at least, I don’t know anything about it, so I don’t want to go too much into detail about something that hasn’t been said to me.

MQ: Fair enough, and we respect that. Since joining the club in January 2018, after coming back from Helsingborgs IF of Sweden, you have been one of the top performers for City as you have been involved in over 20 assists and are closing in on 15 goals. How do you feel about those numbers?

BR: Listen, my man, let’s start by the wording you’re using, the ‘one of the best’ part, and get it right. No, I’ve been the best and not one of the best. Since I came to South Africa and joined Cape Town City, I’ve been the best. I’ve been the best midfielder that Cape Town City has in terms of numbers, do you understand me? That’s in terms of the games I played and the goal contributions I made. By goal contributions I’m talking about goals and assists. Since I came, I’ve been the leading midfielder every season, so I’ve been the best and it’s still ongoing. In saying that, I should be pleased with that (progress) and I’m always trying to keep the level of consistency there. Of course, in the first season, maybe I had a few injuries here and there. Luckily enough for

me, it was not big injuries that kept me out for a long time. I’ve been going strong and I’m happy with my conditioning (that) at this stage, I’m still going strong. I’m very happy with my contribution to the club and I’m sure (that) also they are happy with what they achieved through signing me. So, yeah, it’s like a win-win situation for all of us, and like I said, it doesn’t stop here, my man. I’m always looking forward to doing the best for the club and for myself, but the club always comes first. I just need to stay healthy and away from injuries, then I can produce even more numbers for the team.

MQ: Talking about injuries, a nasty incident happened in your game against Baroka FC recently after you picked an injury from a challenge that appeared to be deliberate. What happened?

BR: I couldn’t see how the guy (Basil Mphahlele) came to me because I was facing the other way and giving him my back. But with the contact that I got, and the ball being away from where he made contact with me, I already felt that it was deliberate. I didn’t see it at the time, and it was only after the game that I saw how he really came into me. With that clip also, I can confirm that it was deliberate because he had no intention of playing the ball. He came directly for my foot. After the hit, I was still okay, and I was just asking for the referee to do the right thing. But what caught the better of my emotions and everything was things that were said from their bench. With the wording from the bench that they used, it came to my mind that, ‘No, man, these people are condoning this, so it might have been even a message from them to him to come into me like that.’

MQ: For us, who were not there, can you tell us what exactly was said to you from the Baroka bench?

BR: Let me start by telling you that what made me mad about it is the fact that it happened right in front of their bench. So, that means they saw exactly how the guy came into me. For them to shout at me and tell me, ‘Come on, man, don’t be too soft, those are just scratches.

Go on, and let the game go on’ was disappointing. I almost broke my leg and you tell me that it’s just scratches? That didn’t sit well with me. I broke my knee before, and I know what it feels like to be out of the game for more than six months. I had been out of the game for 11 months, so such things came to my mind at that moment. It was almost like a déjà vu moment and it was like those guys would be okay when another football player breaks his leg, or with another football player losing pay.

MQ: That’s so unfortunate.

BR: I mean, we are not only football players, but we are also human beings. By being human, it means that we’re kids to some people and we are parents to some people. These people that I mention are all looking up to us to have something to eat. Then for someone else to come and threaten your career like that is not okay. I have two boys that I look after, and I have a mom that I look after and that is my immediate family, so if you take me out of the game, where are they going to get something to eat? What would even be worse is me being 33 years old breaking a leg - when am I going to recover? That would be a blow.

MQ: Any idea of who said the things you say were mentioned to you after you got injured?

BR:

I couldn’t tell at the time as I was still getting treatment from the physio and our medical staff. I was facing the other way, but I could hear the words from them. I stood up and had an argument with them in their bench about condoning such thing. They told me to shut up and I told them that I wasn’t going to keep quiet. I told them, ‘What you’re saying to me doesn’t make sense, because this is football and there’s a reason it is called the Beautiful Game and it shouldn’t be like this at all.’

MQ: Did you hear at all from the perpetrator?

BR:

My man, the time the incident happened, it was almost time to the game ending, almost a minute or 30 seconds left. After the game, their assistant coach, coach (Vincent) Kobola, came to me and apologised. He said he was very sorry for the behaviour and stuff like that. Then as I sat there, the captain of Baroka went to fetch the boy who kicked me and, as they approached me, I stood up and walked away. At the time, I was still very emotional, and I didn’t want it to end in another argument. But at the same time, I felt like he didn’t even have the decency to come to me himself and say sorry. Even after the game, he couldn’t do it and someone had to go and fetch him.

MQ: Let’s hope everyone will realise their mistakes and…

BR: (Cuts in) I hope so also, because I wouldn’t wish this even on him. It’s not good. I just hope that in the PSL or wherever they play professional football, we stay away from such behaviour because that’s not good for the game.

MQ: You mentioned how worried you were about getting injured at your age. Well, you’ll be turning 34 this year although your performances aren’t showing any sign of a decline. How much longer can you still go?

BR: (Laughs) I wouldn’t like to predict the future, because if I do so, tomorrow it might come out as if I was lying. But as for me and retiring, I think the body will tell me when it’s time to quit. The body will indicate that to me, so I’m not certain as to what age I want to stop. As long as I can still go (on), I’m not going to stop. I love this game and for most of my life I have just been loving this game. The passion I have for this game is too big for me to have a specific date – almost saying like I have an expiry date. One thing I can tell you, though, is that the moment I stop enjoying what I do, I’m going to stop.

MQ: We know that a lot of fans out there will be wishing that you never stop because you play diski the way we know it in Mzansi. Surprise, thanks for taking time to speak to us and we wish you everything of the best.

BR: Thanks. I’d like to appeal to Cape Town City fans to be patient with regards to the new normal about them not being able to come to the stadiums and stuff like that. But we still appreciate getting messages from them and the fact that even on bad days, they are always there. We ask them to always rally behind us, and we love and appreciate everything that they do for us.

“Very small details matter very much there, like...”

Once regarded as the next big thing in Kaizer Chiefs’ colours, George Lebese reeled from one bad to another. But no amount of bad was going to destroy this Mamelodi-born dribbling wizard. Probably at the lowest point of his career, sitting at home without a club, a US-based club came knocking on his door and “Milkshake”, as he is affectionately known, grabbed the opportunity with both hands and is determined to walk the grounds once walked by legends Jomo Sono, Kaizer Motaung, the late Ace Ntsoelengoe and Doctor Khumalo in that part of the world. In this interview with Soccer Laduma’s Sipho Kekana, GL17 talks about overcoming his demons in the local game.

Sipho Kekana: Hola George. You’re difficult to get hold of, mate. We had to come walk the streets of Mamelodi looking for you. Are you well broer waka?

George Lebese: Ha, ha, ha, ke shap, me outhi (I’m alright, my brother). You came looking for me manually, ha, ha, ha.

SK: Ha, ha, ha, yes, my brother. You renewed your contract with Switchbacks in the US late last year. How come you are still in the country?

GL: I am waiting on my visa. It is a bit difficult to get it right now, because (of) obviously the pandemic and how it affected South Africa. In America, they are very strict on South African citizens. That’s why I am still here. I am still working on that. As soon as I get my visa, I will leave. The good thing is that the season hasn’t started yet that side. It will start at the end of April. So, I still do have a bit of time, but the team is already training. But they are working tirelessly to get me that visa. I really need to get this sorted out so that I can go back because I also don’t wanna be left behind a lot. I have been training on my own this side, but it’s not the same.

SK: We’ll talk about your performance in your first season later. When you talk about US football from a South African perspective, big names like those of Jomo Sono, Kaizer Motaung, Doctor Khumalo and the late Ace Ntsoelengoe come up. Do you hear those names being mentioned that side?

GL: Those are great names and I don’t think you can go to there without their names being mentioned. Those are the legends of the game and they have paved the way for me and some of the other guys that are still coming up, you know. They are the reason we are being considered. So, yeah, they sing praises of them every time. For me, to be walking in that same path as they did, in terms of being in that league in that country, is actually a blessing and I’ll forever be grateful for what they have done because they are the ones that opened these doors for us.

SK: And “Milkshake”, looking at the nature of those players … those are your typical kasi diski players, very skillful and tricky and that is the kind of player that you are at your best. Does that put you under any sort of pressure to deliver over there?

GL: Hmmm, not really under pressure. Not really! I am just enjoying it. They obviously love the flair, but in the right spaces and at the right time. So, as a player, you have to balance on that. You can’t just be sitting on the ball and we are losing. It’s not really pressure on me, that those players you mentioned came here and excelled with those qualities before me. It’s an inspiration for me that if they could do it, why not try to give them what they expect – the flair, the goals, you know. So, it’s an inspiration.

SK: What sense are you getting there? Is that flair more appreciated that side than here at home?

GL:

Not really. I won’t say it’s underappreciated at home. Sometimes it’s the way the coaches want things to be done. We have a lot of skillful guys at home that know when and where to do it and how to do it. I mean, we would like to see more of it because it is our trademark. I, personally, wouldn’t like to see it dying out and we become robots. We need to stick to our identity but in the right way of

benefiting the team.

SK: Did you try and seek advice from some of these legends before going to the US?

GL: The only person I spoke to was Doctor Khumalo. On some of my social media platforms, he reached out, you know, to say, “Good luck and I wish you all the best.” And we had a big chat about that because we had a close relationship while I was at (Kaizer) Chiefs. So, he understands me and I look up to him. So, he reached out and that comforted me as well and meant a lot. You know, you don’t have to say too much. Just to say “good luck” can mean a lot and it was enough to encourage and inspire me. So that was that.

SK: You are sitting at home and nothing seems to be working out for you and you are without a club. Then boom, an opportunity to play abroad. What was going through your when you got the opportunity?

GL: Look, through the blessings of God, I was able to get that opportunity. But, Siga, one thing I can say is that you don’t become a bad player over a bad season. So, I think the team looked beyond that terrible period of my life and looked at what it is that I could offer and also the experience. And personally, for me, I was relieved to be finally going back to doing what I love most, which is playing football. So, I was over the moon. I was happy more than anything and grateful. mind

SK: Did you make contact with the coach at the time, South African-born Alan Koch, to offer your services? GL: No, I hadn’t spoken to both the coach and assistant coach. They were South African and I think they follow the sport and might have heard what was happening here at home at the time. I would like to think that is what happened and they even did their research to see if I would fit in even before they contacted me. So, they contacted me and asked me if I would be interested and, being a free agent I, of course, took the opportunity.

SK: And then he resigned and left you there.

GL: Eish, yeah. That was another situation because I didn’t know whether I was coming or going at that time. I was still waiting to hear what was going to happen with my future there and to hear that the coach had left, honestly, I was already starting to prepare for life after the club. But then I received a call from the coach they had brought to the club and he asked me if I would be interested to work with him and that’s how I got to renew my contract.

SK: How does the league that side compare to the local league in terms of competitiveness? GL: I think as South Africans, Siga, we are not behind with the technicality and obviously a bit of flair. We have that. The other is a bit more technical. They demand the details of the game to be done in a specific way. Very small details matter very much there, like how you pass, how you attack. That’s just the only difference. Otherwise, it’s the same competitiveness, same willingness to win the game and become the better team.

SK: Let’s track back a little bit. You were this young skillful player from Arcadia Shepherds at some stage, with such a bright future, full of potential. What happened to that skillful youngster? What happened to Milkshake? GL: I mean, I would have liked things to turn out better than they did, but I can’t sit here and be ungrateful about the opportunities that I have got. I am not very unhappy, but I would say I would have loved to have things turn (out) better. But those are the things that

March 3, 2021 contribute to a person gaining experience. So, I have experience today because of everything I have been through. I had those challenges and I would like say I have overcome them. I mean, there are players who never got to bounce back from similar situations I have been through. I think I am doing very well. I could be better though. But I am over it. It’s life. I don’t even think about it now, wish and hope, nah. I am okay. I made peace with it.

SK: Coaches can make or destroy a player’s career. There is no better example than that of the late Scara Ngobese, who is the best under Ted Dumitru one season and the worst the next season under Ernst Middendorp. The difference there is the coach.

GL:

Yeah, obviously coaches have an impact on the players. Player management is very crucial to the players performing to their best. I can say under Muhsin (Ertugral), it was that issue, that Jabu Pule (now Mahlangu) was phenomenal at the time. So, I felt, at the time, he was trying to get another Jabu Pule out of me because I was still young and I remember in my first game I performed some tricks and the fans appreciated that. But I did that because it was a friendly match and I was trying to make a name for myself. So, after that, I didn’t do so much of the tricks. I was trying to focus on my game, trying to score and trying to go forward. I was focusing on that and he wanted to bring out the flair, the freedom and, obviously, I didn’t understand what he was trying to do because he demanded results then. Because Chiefs is a big institution where they just want results, he wanted the results there and then. So, I was young and I was confused. I feel like I was okay; I didn’t do bad, but he didn’t get what he was looking for, which was the

next Jabu Pule, you know.

SK: Sure... GL:

I think my best period was under Stuart Baxter because I think he understood what I could offer and he turned me into the player that I was then. I wish we had more time,

but that’s how the sport is.

SK: It’s very interesting that you say your best period was under someone like Baxter because we always hear those are the coaches that want direct play, physicality and so on. What was different about him?

GL: Like I say, I was trying to become a player that was based on stats … the number of goals and so on. As soon as he got to the team, he sat me down. I remember he said, “Look, I would like you to do this.” He gave me players to study, how they do things in certain positions – players I also felt were probably similar (to me) in style, the way I was playing. And he told me, “As soon as you are in this half, just be free and this is what I expect from you and, other than that, just be free.” That’s when I started being free, scoring goals, assisting. I felt that I was playing well. And he would still call me and calm me down because sometimes you tend to lose your head because of the praises and how good people are speaking of you. So, he was monitoring each and every player; not only me. Even those that were not playing, he sat them down to say, “This is what I want. This is why you are not playing.” So, I felt he was the best man-management coach that I worked with. ❐

then play. After the game, win or lose, they go straight to their hotel safely and finally go back home without any hiccups. But when it’s time for South African teams to go to them, it’s an entirely different story! Flights are delayed, some teams sleep in motels while their crazy and immature fans make a lot of noise outside their building. Sometimes they travel by taxis to the venue, only to find their change rooms locked. Their insane fans would throw things at their taxis or buses on entering the venue. The grass on the pitch would not be cut. The less said about the referees and assistants, the better. Tau-Tona Moleba, Seotloana, Tembisa

I am wondering how possible it is for one team to be expected to play in two different competitions in two days. To me, it seems what the so-called “CAF” wants, they get, irrespective of how they get it. It wasn’t Sundowns’ fault for their CAF Champions League game to be called off/postponed, so they can’t be given an ultimatum as to when that game should be played, and SAFA/PSL, as the “Ja Baas” organisation, can’t stand their ground and say, ‘Since we already had our programme in place, this is the date that we think we can be able to accommodate you.’ Remember Sundowns had already had a game that was postponed to allow them to have ample time to prepare for the Champions League game that did not get underway. As much as the PSL did us Sundowns a favour by postponing that league encounter against Maritzburg, if they are going to keep on postponing, at the end of the day it is going to be a burden whenever we’ll be forced to play consecutive games without having to rest like other teams. Sundowns are being forced to prioritise between the league, Nedbank Cup and Champions League. Be fair, Africa. Jimmy Thomas, via email