There were better players than him…

Lunga Adam: Bra Sparks, compliments of the New Year, and we hope you’re keeping strong! Listen, the reason we’ve called you is because this whole jersey number 10 retirement debate has dominated headlines after Jomo Sono’s recent comments, where he said no one deserves to wear it currently at Orlando Pirates. Most supporters and readers who wrote in to Soccer Laduma were unimpressed, with Amos Motloding saying in edition 1300, “Jomo does not want to recognise current players and must know that playing alongside Pele did not make him a great player like Pele.” For the benefit of our younger readers, and as someone who played with him, we want to ask you: Just how good was Jomo Sono?

Patson Banda: As a player, he was quite a good player. No, he was a good player. Okay, before him, people who wore that jersey, it was his father (Eric “Scara” Sono), it was the late Percy Moloi. Those were said to be greater players than him. He came into the limelight during the time of 1973 when we were the winning team, the super squad. He made his mark as a player. But now, when it comes to the question of comparing him to those he played against or with, he was one of a kind. You know, when we are talking about unique players, we’ve got Messi and before Messi there was Maradona, which is a debate again in Argentina, to say who’s who between Maradona and Messi? Messi made a mark, he won a cup now after they last won the cup in 1986. He had made his name before even winning the cup. Now, Jomo, on the other hand, he’s been a great player, like I said. He was one of the great players that we had. But for him to say to other players that they cannot wear that jersey because they are not good enough, that I cannot attest to it, for one simple reason. We had this young man who came to Pirates by the name of Eric Chauke – he wore that jersey. Yes, he played that position. He made a mark as well, in his own way. Same applies to the Brazilians. Jersey number 10 that Pele wore, did Pele say, “Nobody will wear jersey number 10, I’m retiring the jersey”? You talk about the greats. Now, Messi is also wearing jersey number 10, am I right?

LA: For Argentina, yes. PB:

Who wore the jersey before Messi? It was Maradona. I don’t know why he (Jomo) retired the jersey, honestly. It’s up to him. I think you have to interview him. He must give the reasons, other than to say other players are not good enough to wear that jersey. Now, by so doing, I think you are creating a precedent whereby most other players as well… Like myself, I could have easily said, “Number 1 jersey belongs to me, nobody must wear the jersey, I’ve commanded the jersey for the past 14 years while at Pirates.” It doesn’t make sense to me, you know. But you give the blessing to the next generation that comes, to say, “I need to see someone who will command the jersey like I did.” You’re giving them the leeway, to say, “Let them use it.” Let them have your blessings too. Because when you come and join a team, you don’t have a number. You don’t have a number! You come there as a player, you are then given a jersey. It’s not like an inheritance, no. There were better players than him who would have worn that jersey at Pirates. We had “Shuffle” Mokopane who could have worn the jersey and mastered the jersey, but maybe he (Jomo) was lucky to have been born under the shadow of his father. That alone, that’s the only thing, I think, that gave him a plus for him to have the jersey. Otherwise, anybody could have worn the jersey. Now, let him release the jersey. Let him give Orlando Pirates the blessing, for the youngsters to want to be like him. How can I want to be like Jomo when I’m not wearing jersey number 10 playing for Orlando Pirates? I won’t be like Jomo. So, give me jersey number 10, let me become something better than Jomo. Because at the end of the day, the very same

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t is a fact of life that the late Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele, the Brazilian great, brought popularity and prestige to the number 10 jersey. It is also welldocumented that some of the greatest names in the game, such as Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Alfredo Di Stefano, went on to make their mark in world football wearing this jersey number, which it can be said is the reserve of the playmaker in a team. Therefore, it would have come as an honour for Jomo Sono to be handed No.10 during his days as a swashbuckling

Jomo will say, “This is the player.” But this is not for us. I mean, we can say anything. I can say, “I’ve been number one goalkeeper, there’s nobody else who’s like me.” I’ll be lying because we are not the same. He’ll come and be another type of a player and be good enough to represent. So, I don’t know how he sees it, that’s my personal opinion.

LA: Well, maybe he sees it from a point of comparison, to say no one is really standing out among the current guys like I did.

PB:

You see, I cannot compare myself with the present generation, for one simple reason: when I played football, there was no money. That’s a plus for them. Though their football we say it’s inferior to ours, attacker for Orlando Pirates, considering he and Pele called each other teammates at one stage. Remarkable. So indelible is the legacy that the Black Prince of South African football left, that the club saw it fit to retire the jersey not long into the new millennium. Although a praiseworthy gesture, it is a decision that has continued to divide opinions over the years, and the issue was thrust back into the spotlight after Sono’s latest public statements, in which he reiterated his stance that no current Buccaneers star is good enough to lay claim to the legendary shirt. but they have made more money than we did. You see the difference now? Now, if you have to compare yourself to that youngster, that youngster is going to embarrass you. He will ask you one question which will be difficult for you to answer. He’ll ask you one question, “What do you have? You have nothing in hand.” You see? He’s got a plus. Not all of us were fortunate enough to be like Jomo, Ace (Ntsoelengoe), who went abroad and made money. Some of us are paupers. Some of the legends… ah, you know, it’s hard to talk to them, it’s hard to see them. You try to run away because of their present status. So, if we talk in terms of comparisons, football-wise, yes we can compare ourselves with the youngsters and say these youngsters haven’t done as much as we’ve done. Football-wise, they haven’t matched some of the players (from our generation). In fact, today they are playing under strict restrictions and instructions. They are talking in terms of diamonds. They are bringing diamonds into football, and those things have been existing but we never had names such as diamonds. But it’s been there!

LA: Do you still follow the game today?

PB: Come again?

LA: Do you still get to watch Pirates and see what the current players are about?

PB: Sometimes. It depends where I am. If the game is on and I’m at home, I’ll watch TV and watch them play. But most of the time, I’m on the road…

LA: Okay, because we were going to ask you who you think deserves that jersey number 10 from the current squad…

PB:

Let me put it to you this way. Players today are not given freedom of expression. On the field of play, they don’t express themselves like we used to do. Jomo had an opportunity to play during that era where coaches would look at a player play and allow the player to do whatever he likes to do on the field of play. Today, talent is being hidden. Very few players go out there and do their own thing and, sort of, not listen to what the coach is saying while he’s on the field of play. We don’t have entertainers anymore. We don’t have crowd pullers, a player that will bring people to the stadium, to say, “We are going to watch soand-so.” We don’t have those people anymore. So, for current players to match Jomo, style-wise, they are not being allowed to do so. Not that we don’t have, we do have these players who can do all these funny tricks, maybe even better than him, but because they are not allowed to express themselves… My emphasis is that they are not being given freedom of expression. If these players can be given freedom of expression… Look at what Mbappe is doing. He does whatever he wants to do with the ball. He’s not being restricted. He’s being allowed to go wherever he feels like going, at his own peril. Same applies to Messi. He opts to play on the right while he’s left-footed. There’s a reason to that. You have players like Modric, who plays in the middle and they call him an engine – he runs for 90 minutes non-stop. He’s being given the leeway, to say, “Do whatever you feel is right for the team. All you do is to support one another.” We will have, one day, a coach that will not turn a blind eye to players of that nature and allow him to express himself. Maybe only then will we be able to find the Ace Ntsoelengoes, the Jomo Sonos of this era.

LA: Tell us, what’s the significance of this jersey number? As a goalkeeper standing between the sticks, what are your expectations of your teammate wearing No.10?

PB: You know, those jerseys… jersey number 10, jersey number 8, jersey number 6 are very special jerseys on the field because they all come from the middle. And in most cases, jersey number 10 would be a guy that we say is a playmaker. He makes people play. He brings the game to the people. He’s a ball juggler. He’s got all the talent. Those are the Mlungisi Ngubanes, (Scara) Ngobeses, the one who played for Kaizer Chiefs, the “Maria Marias” Lamola, “Masterpieces” Moripe, just to mention a few. Ace Ntsoelengoe was wearing jersey number 12 but playing at number eight. Those are the engines of the team. Not anybody can wear jersey number 10, in reality. He has to be very special to wear jersey number 10. Same applies to jersey number 8. Same applies to jersey number 6 because number 6, actually, is the destroyer. He actually anchors the whole midfield. He’s the one who makes this number 10 and 8 to play because he’s more defensive than attacking yena, whereas bona they are attacking. So, the significance of that jersey is that you must be a very special player that wears that jersey.

Mjomana’s former teammate from the ’70s, the equally iconic Patson ‘Sparks’ Banda, does not mince his words in this interview with Soccer Laduma’s Lunga Adam.

LA: Aren’t you contradicting yourself though, legend, as you say the player who wears this jersey has to be special, while also admitting that we don’t have entertainers and crowd pullers anymore?

PB: No, I’m not contradicting myself. I’m saying… I said to you, if you were listening very attentively, we do have these players, it’s only that they are never being given an opportunity to express themselves, so they are playing direct football instead of showcasing their talent. During Jomo’s era, they were allowed to showcase their talent, whereby a guy would juggle, juggle instead of going forward. Today, you have those players, but they are never being given opportunities to express or showcase their talent. Those special players are there, it’s only that the stage they are playing on, they are not being allowed to dance to their satisfaction. All they are doing, these players, is to please the coach and the team. You know, today the coaches are in trouble. If they don’t win, they get fired anytime. You lose two, three games, you get fired.

LA: It’s business. PB: It’s business. It’s not like that time. That’s what I’m saying.

LA: Okay, let’s leave it there, legend. We will try and get in touch with Jomo to see if he’ll agree to releasing the jersey and giving his blessings to the current crop, like you and others out there ask of him to do.

PB: Ja, talk to him. What I’m saying again, even if we have the player to don that jersey, he’ll never be given an opportunity to express himself. So, how do you compare him to Jomo? Because at the end of the day, he has to be a crowd puller. He has to bring people in to come and watch him play. He must be a saviour of the team in most cases… or a Messiah.

LA: Always a pleasure speaking to you, Bra Sparks.

PB:

the global showpiece for the first time in 36 years. Moreover, it was the best year for the entire South America, as world championship glory had been eluding this footballing continent for so long. Until now, Europe was ruling the roost in terms of prestige on the biggest of all stages. In the 2022 Qatar World Cup, we saw Cameroonian forward Vincent Aboubakar mesmerizing the Samba boys, Brazil. As if that was not enough, this was the best tournament as we were particularly privileged to watch the fastest footballer on the planet, in Kylian Mbappe. The lowest point of the year was the passing away of legendary football supremo Pele. He was the face and soul of the Beautiful Game. His great exploits shall be remembered for posterity. It was during his heydays that football was transformed and attracted millions of fans and viewers across the globe. In conclusion, Happy New Year to the Soccer Laduma team and fellow readers. It’s a pleasure that we are back to enjoy the delicacies from the cooking pot of the Soccer Laduma team. Good times are upon us again!

Batsirai Kativu, Johannesburg

There is this young man at TS Galaxy named Aphelele Teto. I see a lot of talent in that guy. For me, he just needs a great team to guide him. He can have a bright future in football if he won’t rush to play for so-called big teams. I’m asking myself why his coach doesn’t play him for 90 minutes on a regular basis because he has speed and skills. He is so creative.

Thusego Babath Pitse, Dipompong

Our football is in the wrong hands. It is getting worse since no one accounts when results are not coming, except for scapegoats in the form of coaches. This administration is arrogant, they leave issues unresolved. The club v country issue, the South African identity that requires local technical staff (yet instead we choose foreign average expertise), performance bonus issues, the sidelining of former players, lack of support and respect of local coaches… the list is endless. As long as the status quo remains the same, we will always applaud other African countries who qualify repeatedly for international competitions with ease. We claim to have some of the better infrastructures on the continent, yet results say the opposite. It is clear that this SAFA administration is the poison that kills our football slowly, emanating from the snake that is difficult to trace since it’s hidden behind designer suits and briefcases. We are going nowhere slowly. Lista Caleni, via email