Still In Toych With...

ALOIS BUNJIRA (PART 1)

You gotta love Alois Bunjira, the former Bidvest Wits and M amelodi Sundow ns sharpshooter, w ho also represented his country Zimbabw e on the international stage. Readers w ill remember some ofthe stories he has shared on this page before, explaining in great and fascinating detail about how , as a youngster, he passed up the opportunity ofsigning for Orlando Pirates, choosing instead to go back home in fear of falling victim to the crime and grime ofJozi. Then, more recently, he w as back at it, opening up on the intricate details ofhow he left M amelodi Sundow ns on the last day ofa transfer w indow to link up w ith Bidvest Wits. He’s back! What does the former hard-running striker have for our readers this time around? Read on, and enjoy this first oftw o instalments.

Alois, you are back on our pages for the umpteenth time! It’s not that we are not loving it, the stories you’ve shared with us recently left us gasping for it. The one about how you ran away from Orlando Pirates back to Zimbabwe, after being scared out of your wits by the criminality in downtown Johannesburg, was legendary. Then there was the one about how you joined Bidvest Wits from Mamelodi Sundowns, in a swap deal with Manqoba Ngwenya, one which happened in the last 10 minutes of that transfer window.

It’s always an honour speaking to you guys. Ha, ha, ha, eish, if they failed to locate Manqoba that day, I’m telling you, I was gonna be stuck! I am sure your readers were amazed at that story, how he joined Sundowns. Indeed. A professional footballer’s life was very interesting in those days, whereas today it’s all just a bore. We are missing the characters, from players to coaches to administrators to club bosses… and even fans. Those were the days. Well, we believe this time around you have a story to share about the intricate details of how you left Wits for Sundowns.

Yes, yes. Interesting story… ha, ha, ha.

Sure, let’s get to it, Gazza.

So, the season had just concluded in May, and I had finished the season at Wits as the club’s Top Goalscorer and the Player of the Season. Coincidentally, my contract had expired and the team manager, Derek Blanckensee, then said to me, “Ha! Gazza, don’t worry about the contract. We will sign when you come back for pre-season.” Of course, I didn’t have to worry. I knew I was a golden boy at the club and well-loved by fellow teammates, the technical team and management. I had done well in the previous four years I had been at the club. I had signed my previous two-year contract the same way, just after my return for pre-season. Everyone involved was comfortable with that. Then a day before I left for Zimbabwe for the off-season break, in the morning, I got the phone call that changed everything.

Hmmm….

Mike Makaab, who was my manager from my early days in South Africa at Qwa-Qwa Stars, was on the other side of the line. He said to me, “Alois, when are you going home to Zimbabwe ?” I told him, “Early tomorrow morning, Mike. I am driving.” Mike then said, “Oh, in that case you will have to meet up with me today. I have big news for you. Can we meet at Milpark Holiday Inn at 13h000?” I said, “Yeah, no problem. I can do that.” On my side, I was now curious about what Mike wanted to tell me, which seemed so urgent. I had absolutely no clue as I had not spoken to him in a while, and he knew the drill at Bidvest Wits that if they didn’t offload you, it meant they would renew your contract at the beginning of the season. Otherwise, they would inform everyone who should not come back. So, like I said, everyone involved was comfortable, including Mike. At exactly 13h00, I was at Milpark Holiday Inn. Mike was already there, holding a big file. He said we should go have lunch in the dining room. We went to the dining room and ordered our food and drinks. As we were waiting for our food, Mike then broke the silence once again. With a big smile on his face, rubbing his palms against each other, he said, “Alois, I have this surprise for you. This will change your life and that of your family.” He sounded very proud of himself, I should say ... ha, ha, ha.

Don’t all agents after securing a big deal, ha, ha, ha?

I looked at him and couldn’t help but smile back at him while asking, “What is it?” Instead of saying something, he reached for that file he was carrying, opened it and threw the nicely stapled papers in front of me. The first thing that hit my eyes was the Mamelodi Sundowns logo on the cover page. He started talkhave ing as I opened to the first page. “I organised a deal of your life for you. This is a Mamelodi Sundowns contract for you. They want you. We have already negotiated everything, your signing-on fees and salary, as written on that contract. You are going there as a free agent. Wits haven’t signed with you, so basically you are free to sign with Sundowns. Look at the figures. Tell me you don’t want that.” I Indeed looked at the figures. Oh my word ...

Eye-watering?

I had never touched that kind of money in my career. I looked at the signing-on fee per year, for three years ... and the salary. Hmmm... unbelievable! These guys were basically tripling what I was getting at Wits. Mike kept staring at me as I went through the figures over and over again. When I eventually looked up, he then said, “So, what is it gonna be? Are we signing ?” When I stammered a bit, he went on, “Alois, this is a once-off chance and offer that you may not get again. I have played my part. When you first came to South Africa, I promised you that with your talent, I would get you into a big club here. I have done it. You sign this, right here, and you are now a Mamelodi Sundowns player, for a good three years.” It was not like I didn’t want to move to Sundowns. It wasn’t like I didn’t like the contract. In fact, it was always my dream. I was a Sundowns fan even when I was still playing in Zimbabwe. Alexander Maseko and Nelson Bandura, who had played for Sundowns, made me fall in love with the club. I was very close to Bandura in the national team camp, before he moved to Sundowns. My problem was my love for Wits, the bond I had built with the club and everyone there. Above all, the loyalty that I believed I had towards the club bothered me now that there was these new developments.

I kept quiet for a while, until Mike once again said, “Alois ...” Ha, ha, ha. I got out of my slumber and said to Mike, “Ok... I am signing. Give me the pen. Let me sign this.” Mike smiled, and gave me the pen. I signed. From that moment, I was now automatically a Mamelodi Sundowns player. But no one at Wits knew at that time. Even my best friend, the late Charles Yohane (may his soul rest in peace), whom I shared many secrets with, didn’t even know about the meeting with Mike, although we shared him as our manager. Mike took the papers, put them in his file, got up and offered me his hand saying, “Congratulations, Alois. Well done. You have made the right decision. Go home, inform your family and travel safe to Zimbabwe. Give me your contact number as soon as you get to Zimbabwe and we will take it from there.” We shook hands and sat down to eat. The next day, early in the morning, my friend Charles, who was my neighbour at the flats we were staying at in Linden, came knocking on my door to tell me it was time to go to Zimbabwe. As always, me and Charlie used to go to Zimbabwe either using one car or we would use separate cars but together in a two-car convoy. This time, we were using separate cars because Charlie had bought too many groceries. He had even hired a trailer for the groceries. We did our final preps and off we went onto the road to Zimbabwe. As we approached Polokwane, around 09h00, my phone rang.

Eish, we wonder who could be calling! Can’t wait to hear all about it as we wrap up this eye-opening conversation next week. Okay, bro.