Doc’s memory bank: That story really touched me

W hen you are sitting with Dr Motaung, 80-90% of the conversation is about football and nothing else. There is a story he once told us during one of our camps. I was coach Stuart Baxter’s assistant at the time. It was myself, Stuart, Bobby Motaung and Ace Khuse with the Chairman. He was telling us about his trip to Manchester United and, in his typical style of doing things, he was sending a message. He told us, “I went to Old Trafford and as I was with Sir Alex Ferguson and the big guns at the club,

I would hear a noise, like someone was bouncing a tennis ball against the wall. I kept hearing this sound and asking myself where it was coming from? I asked the guys, in my company, about it and someone said, ‘Don’t worry, we will show you.’ W hen we got outside, we saw David Beckham taking free kicks with about 100 soccer balls! They told me that’s what he does every day and the noise I heard was from him. The team’s training session had long finished, but he remained behind to wark on his free kicks. I thought to myself, that’s why Beckham made taking free kicks look so easy and I was blown away by the story because, as the Chairman was speaking, I could visualise Beckham taking those free kicks and bending them so effortlessly. The message from the Chairman’s story was that Beckham didn’t wait for the coach to tell him what to do, he took his craft so seriously that he invested a lot of time and energy in it. That story really touched me and that’s one of the fondest memories I have of “Chincha Guluva”!

I’m sure it is going to come as a surprise to a lot of people that I will be talking about Bra K as a friend. At some stage, he takes off the Chairman’s cap or that of a respected man and father-figure and becomes a friend, especially when you do the right thigs. I never knew he could be funny until I spent a lot of time with him. W hen we were in camp, having lunch after training or whenever we chilled with him, we would be in stitches from his jokes. Getting to know Bra K and doing the right things will earn you a friend, not just a team Chairman, from that man because he loves discipline and dedication. I must say, if you listen to what he says, you will go far. He is so smart that he will sometimes make a joke while sending a message in that joke. You will laugh and then when you are alone and revisiting the discussion, you then realise that there was a powerful message in the joke. I happen to know a bit about how Chiefs started and the big names that were there, through my conversations with him. He would tell me about strengths and weaknesses of some of the top players who paved the way for us and even share stories from their trips to play in Durban, traveling on matchday and playing a game in the afternoon. I will never forget the moments we chilled together just to talk about football and life in general. I feel privileged to have seen and experienced Bra K more than just as a Chairman. Love and respect to you, Bra K!