What my sweetest trophy was

Zola Doda: Kennedy, first and foremost, how is life after retirement?

Kennedy Mweene: I think I’m fortunate that after I retired from playing, I was appointed the assistant goalkeeper coach (at Mamelodi Sundowns). Everything is more or less the same, it’s positions that have changed. But everything is still the same. I have realised that there’s a lot of work now that is done behind the scenes. As a player, I knew that the programme was designed by the coaches and all of a sudden now I’m one of the people who are designing the programme. But it’s something I’m passionate about… I’m enjoying it!

ZD: Was it an easy decision to hang up your boots because let’s be honest, you could have played for another few more years?

KM:

I started thinking about retiring a year before last. I told myself that I cannot play football forever, I can be helping upcoming players when coaching. But it wasn’t difficult. The first thing that you need to do when you are about to retire is to accept that you have contributed. It’s all good. I told myself that when I’m done playing this is what I will be doing. I was given a platform by Sundowns and this is something I’m passionate about. I told myself when I turned 30 that there is life after football and I need to prepare myself, as it’s not easy to make a transition from playing to be one of the technical staff (members). It’s not easy. After 30, that is when I started thinking along those lines. It was in my mind all along. It has to be in your head as a player that one day I’m going to retire and you need to start thinking about what are you going to do. I contributed in football in the way I could, in the PSL. I don’t regret anything. I’m still in topflight (football) and even the learning has been quicker because there is something new to learn, especially if you are a coach. It’s easy to learn from coach Rhulani (Mokwena), coach Manqoba (Mngqithi), coach Michael (Loftman) and coach Wendell (Robinson). It’s very important because when I was playing, these are the people who were coaching me. It’s like starting from Grade 1 and learning how things are done on the side of coaching. I still have a lot to learn. I’m taking my time and I’m learning every single day. It’s interesting because you start looking at things differently.

ZD: Is it fair to say that as a player, you achieved most of your success after you turned 30?

KM:

(Laughing) That’s true, that’s true. When I came to South Africa, I joined Free State Stars and credit must go to them and the late Mike Mokoena – he treated us like we were his kids. I learnt a lot in South Africa from Free State Stars. When Sundowns came knocking, I was just coming from the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Ntate Mokoena called me to his office and said, “Sundowns wants you, what are you thinking?” I wasn’t sure at the time, but after we sat down, Ntate Mokoena said to me, “Look, you are a bigger player and I want you to go and face other challenges.” After he said that… you know when an owner of your team gives you his blessings to leave, I took that and told myself, “Let me go and learn new things”, and that is how I came to Sundowns and started winning all the trophies after the age of 30. Can you imagine? I achieved most of my success with Sundowns. League titles, CAF Champions League, Nedbank Cup, MTN8, Telkom Knockout… all those things I achieved at Sundowns.

ZD: When you look back at your career, what are some of your fondest memories?

KM:

I only played for two teams in South Africa and the similar thing which I found at both clubs

Itisoftensaidthat any foreigner who comes to ply his trade in the PSL needs to be better than the talent available locally, and only an unreasonable person would say Kennedy Mweene fell short of that standard. Having so far spent two years short of 20 years in South Africa, is the spirit of brotherhood. I was very fortunate to find myself in the dressing rooms of these two clubs. We were treating each like brothers, we were reprimanding each other when we made mistakes or didn’t have a good game. Before the coach could even criticise you, your fellow players would tell you where you went wrong. That stands out. Winning the CAF Champions League (stands out), but the sweetest trophy is my first league title in 2013. The first league title with Sundowns started everything and I cherished it more. It opened up everything.

ZD: What was about that league title?

KM: It was my first trophy in South Africa and I had just come back from the Africa Cup of Nations. It will remain the highlight of my career because it was my first title and it opened up a lot of things. Whatever came, came afterwards.

so special

ZD: Let’s go back beginning. How did South Africa come

KM: I was a third-choice goalkeeper in the national team and we were playing World Cup qualifiers against Togo and we lost the match. When we came back to Zambia, Kalusha Bwalya, who was the coach, said, “I want to try this one, Kennedy, in the COSAFA.” So, I started against Malawi and played well. Free State Stars were in Zambia to watch Malawian goalkeeper, Swadic Sanudi. Free State Stars c oach Themba Sithole changed his mind and decided to sign me instead. I came to Qwa-Qwa, and that’s how I ended up in South Africa. Adapting to life (in Mzansi) was good because I was 19 years old and I was about turn 20, so I was still young. There was language barrier, but I had to teach myself Sesotho. That is how I started to learn about the culture of South Africa and the

to the your move to about?

he is considered an insider from the outside. Focused, determined and clean-living, you never read a bad story about him in the press during a playing career that uprooted him from his home country of Zambia to the modest town of Bethlehem, where he turned out for Free State Stars as from 2005, before Mamelodi Sundowns came calling some seven years later. The Lusaka-born man environment because I was trying to fit in. It wasn’t easy and also because in Qwa-Qwa when it’s cold, it’s very cold – that is one thing I struggled with. After the team was relegated, I wanted to go back to Zambia, but Ntate Mokoena said, “You are my child, I’m not releasing you and this team will come up again”, and I listened to him. All the Zambian players who came to South Africa with me, Joseph Musonda and Clive Hachilensa, went back and I remained. We only played one season in the NFD (National First Division, now Motsepe Foundation Championship) and came back. I didn’t even feel that I was playing in the NFD because I was still playing for the national team. may not have necessarily played as much as he would have wanted at the Chloorkop-based side, but when he hung up his boots in July this year, the former goalkeeper left a legacy of a fantastic athlete who was the life of the dressing room, always ready to step in whenever called upon. In this interview, Soccer Laduma’s Zola Doda relives the life and times of Kennedy Mweene inside the pitch with the man himself. Enjoy the reminiscences!

ZD: And Siphiwe Tshabalala was part of that Ea Lla Koto team, right?

KM:

Yes, he was. Siphiwe signed when we went down. After we got promoted, he only played for a short period and was sold to Kaizer Chiefs. We had a strong team and we did a lot of things together. We had Duncan Lechesa, Hleza Mofedi, Jimmy Kauleza, Joe Bwalya, the late Adam Ndlovu, Mpho Makola, Thabo Matlaba, Manti Moholo, Noah Chivuta, Chintu Kampamba. It was like a family. Bethlehem is a very small town and there was nothing much to do, so we spent a lot of time together. I’m one person (that) wherever I am, there are no dull moments. There is always laughter. There was just a good time and we used to play for each other, and that is one thing which I loved about the team.

ZD: After spending eight years in the Free State, you finally joined the Brazilians in 2013. Big move.

KM: I wanted to go to greener pastures and challenge myself. When you are playing in any league, you want to say you won a trophy. I wanted to win trophies and Sundowns came to me. The timing was right to come to Sundowns. Back home, they always ask me, “Why is Sundowns always winning the league?” When you watch the PSL on TV, you would think that it’s easy, it looks easy. PSL is too fast and the advice I gave to young ones, like Augustine Mulenga and Justine Shonga, is that PSL is different. Here it’s all about thinking quick and the ball moves quicker. There’s a lot of thinking. It’s not easy, we are sweating to get results. The standard of the PSL is very high and it keeps improving in every season. It’s not the Farmers’ League. I know it looks easy when you see the results, but every game we play like we are fighting relegation. That is the motto here.

ZD: tougher

KM: I will say this over and over again, Mabhudi Khenyeza was a problem. Mabhudi would make you uncomfortable as a goalkeeper. Fadlu Davids and Thamsanqa Gabuza as well, and that is because of their aggression. They could press the whole back four alone because of their aggression and, as a goalkeeper, I couldn’t play the ball with my feet the way I wanted to play. They were always there, they would put you under pressure. Even in corner kicks, they will bump you and make you uncomfortable. When playing against them, I knew that it wouldn’t be an easy game.

Mind telling us about the striker you played against?

AND THIS OVER “I WILL SAY MABHUDI OVER AGAIN, PROBLEM. WAS A KHENYEZA MAKE WOULD MABHUDI AS A UNCOMFORTABLE YOU GOALKEEPER.”

ZD: Which goalkeeper did you admire from other clubs in South Africa? KM: It was Rowen Fernandez because of his distribution accuracy. Even before I came to South Africa from Zambia, I used to watch him. He had accurate passing. He was a good shot-stopper. These days, peop le talk about the Manchester City goalkeeper, Ederson, saying that he can kick the ball hard, but they are only seeing it now. Fernandez used to do that to Collins Mbesuma. The ball would go straight from Rowen to Collins for a goal. Rowen was the first goalkeeper I saw doing the volley kicks when he was still at Kaizer Chiefs. I used to admire him a lot, he was a good goalkeeper.

ZD: Add yourself to the list as well, you indeed were a good goalkeeper. No one could take penalty kicks like you. Kennedy, thanks a lot for your time and hopefully you had a great birthday on Monday. KM: Thanks a lot, my brother.

are favouring certain teams. Please, referees, do what you are paid to do instead of deciding the outcomes of games. By so doing, our league will improve. Sibusiso Khumalo, Melmoth, KZN

What an intriguing and technical game between Sundowns and Pyramids with limited goalscoring opportunities. In the opening exchanges, it was a physical encounter with both teams giving away lots of fouls. The Egyptians played the game in typical North African style, not giving Downs any space and time on the ball. They didn’t allow Sundowns to play their short-passing game and applied a low block to allow them to play the ball in their own half. At times, out of frustration the Downs strikers even dropped to the middle of the park to look for the ball. Pyramids tried on numerous occasions to catch the home side on the counter. Ronwen was just like a passenger between the sticks, as he didn’t even have one save to make. The match stats show that the visitors had zero shots at goal, proof that they came for a point. In the CAF Champions League, you have to make your home ground advantage count and grab maximum points, so it’s two points dropped for the Brazilians. It’s now up to the technical staff to get the key to unlock stubborn defences. It’s still all to play for as all four teams in Group A are on four points.

Gavin Ryan, Emalahleni

The ongoing “beef” between SAFA and PSL has dragged on for so long, much to the demise of development and proper running of South African football. It’s a pity someone like Hugo Broos finds himself in the middle of nowhere, in terms of preparations for the Afcon. I don’t see the PSL budging and cancelling or postponing any games in order to release players early for Afcon preparations. The bullish attitude of the SAFA hierarchy is welldocumented and it’s time they come to their senses and stop making South African football their property. Danny Jordaan and his friends are not doing South African football any justice. It’s all doom and gloom because even the PSL themselves are enjoying their silent war with SAFA. I think they feel they’ve got nothing to lose. I won’t be surprised if we make an early return to Mzansi from the Afcon next month. Mompati Panyaza Ndlovu, Lekubu village, Zeerust

To be honest, data or stats guide us when it comes to football, yet we choose not to believe them. What most people saw as an upset this weekend, I didn’t. Top of my list is the high-flying Girona beating Barcelona 4-2 away. If you haven’t watched Girona play this season, yes, it’s a shock and they have got no business being at the top of the log. In England, Villa beat Arsenal hot on the heels of beating the champions Manchester City. Relegationthreatened Everton defeated Chelsea. Manchester United losing 3-0 at home to Bournemouth is no longer an upset. No team is immune to losing as it has been proven with the likes of Pele’s and Neymar’s former relegated club Santos FC. I was also not surprised by Frankfurt walloping Harry Kane’s Bayern in Germany. On a lighter note though, I have always wondered if Bellingham and Saka play with torn socks or if it’s my eyes or my TV set. I have seen Mayo doing the same.

Lucky Khunou, Meriting

The English Premier League is so competitive, so much that any team is capable of causing an upset. Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are battling it out for the number one spot. Siyabonga Nkalambela, Dukathole, Lady Frere

The English Premier League is growing season by season. We see beautiful football from every team and in every city, not to mention up-and-coming youngsters. I’ve been following English football for almost two decades now, and I can say only Arsenal under Wenger stood up and developed English football to modern standards. Manchester Unted, Liverpool, Chelsea and Swansea followed. The likes of Manchester United, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and others were still holding onto their traditional English football of long balls and big, tall players. Now the game has changed. Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle, Aston Villa, West Ham United and even the bottom-table teams such as Luton

Town and Burnley are displaying beautiful football. Big up, English Premier League, you are really the best league in the world. On a completely different note, I see South African football fanatics are worried and some are celebrating the declining performance of Sundowns. Some are starting to question Rhulani’s state of readiness in the Champions League. Do they understand that players are homo sapiens, not goods? The traveling alone can affect your mentality, as your body gets tired, let alone your mind. This is unlike in Europe where teams travel direct to their destination in only two or three hours. I do agree that Downs have depth to choose from, but combination does not have depth but is a process. You need a winning process, not individuals. These losses and draws are preparing the team for their passage to knockout stages and eventually the final. When they won the Champions League, they started with losses and draws, so I believe they’re going to win this one. Masandawana, let’s keep supporting our own team. These boys need us in every game.