NTSIKELELO NYAUZA - UNATTACHED

Hola Ntsiki, thanks for making time to chat to us about some lighthearted stuff. Thanks for the opportunity, my brother.

We spoke to you a few months ago, but this is obviously a different space where you share some funny stories from the clubs you’ve played for. So, without wasting any time, let’s get into it…

When I was at (Orlando) Pirates, I remember we played an XI-versus-XI match at training. We had Thamsanqa Gabuza in the team. He scored a goal and he celebrated his goal like there was no tomorrow. That guy ran around the whole stadium, celebrating his goal, ha, ha, ha. I think maybe he celebrated for close to 10 minutes and we had to wait for him to finish and get back on to the pitch. When he came back into the field, we passed him the ball and he was so tired because he had been running around the entire stadium. He didn’t want the ball on his feet anymore because he had done all of that running around the pitch, ha, ha, ha.

Ha, ha, ha, we just can imagine how tired he was after running for so long to celebrate a goal in training. That guy is definitely one of a kind. What a story to start with, Ntsiki. So, what was your reaction as a team when he was celebrating that long?

We all laughed because he is such a funny character. Even the coaches were laughing, ha, ha, ha. You can imagine how much fun we were having while laughing at what he had done. He is quite the character, ha, ha, ha.

True. Did he take off his training jersey when he was celebrating? Ha, ha, ha, yip, just as you know him. We all just had a good laugh about it because imagine celebrating a goal for that long.

Tell us more about what it was like having him as a teammate…

He is actually a nice guy to be around because we work hard and he’s also the type of guy who will motivate the guys. He is an ambitious person and there are times when he is serious, ha, ha, ha. He is definitely a fun guy to be around and work with.

We’ve certainly heard a lot about him from some of the players who have played with him in the past. Yeah, what you see in the video (on social media), that’s just him. He is a great guy to have in the team because of the atmosphere he can create.

There have certainly been a number of videos on social media where he is having some crazy moments. But let’s move on. One thing football supporters have alBuccaneers ways mentioned is that you look like Lucky Lekgwathi. Have you heard this or have you come across situations where people have confused you for the former captain? Yeah, I’ve heard this a lot of times. A lot of people say that. It’s happened many times before where people think I am Lucky. I would go to the mall and then people ask for a picture and then they would call out Lekgwathi’s name, ha, ha, ha.

We can imagine how awkward that was for you on some occasions, or did you just get used to it? I would just allow them to take a picture and they would keep saying, “Lekgwathi, our captain”, ha, ha, ha. People think I am Lucky Lekgwathi, but some of them would get it right and say that I am Nyauza, ha, ha, ha. They would notice who I am, but then they would keep telling me that I look like Lekgwathi. I was cool with it. I did not have any problems.

So, what’s your reaction when that happens? I would just give a big smile and say that they can take a picture with me. I don’t correct them, ha, ha, ha. You know how people are. When they see that you look like that person, they will call you by that person’s name. I won’t sa y, “I am Nyauza.” I also played for Pirates, so it’s okay.

You and Lekgwathi were teammates at one point in your careers at the Soweto giants. Did you then ever talk about how you look alike? Lucky is a cool guy, and he is a chilled grootman (big man). I really like him as a mentor and as a senior player at the time. He did not really take that seriously. He would sometimes just laugh about it. To him, it was okay. He was one of those senior guys who did not make too many jokes. It’s like when I was at Platinum Stars, where we had guys like Henrico Botes and (Mbulelo) OJ Mabizela. OJ was a straight talker. A spade is a spade to him. He speaks facts and he was not the type of person who would make too many jokes, ha, ha, ha. He was strict.

Sounds like the OJ that we know and have heard a lot about. Thank you so much for your time. Enjoy the festive season and hopefully we will see you back on the pitch with one of the clubs in the PSL soon. Ha, ha, ha. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Enjoy the festive season too. I hope the Soccer Laduma readers also enjoy the festive season.