I had to go right to the bottom

On Thursday, 7 March; 19 days before his 29th birthday, Riyaad Norodien took to Instagram with a specific message aimed at the newly appointed Golden Arrows coach, Steve Komphela. The player wrote: ‘Can somebody in the football industry tell coach Steve Komphela that Riyaad Norodien is available and ready to produce just a chance is needed’. After the message was posted, Soccer Laduma’s Delmain Faver reached out to the former Ajax Cape Town player to hear more about his search for a new club, his performance in the Rwanda Premier League and why he needs just one chance to show his worth in the DStv Premiership.

Delmain Faver: Skillo, welcome back to the pages of Soccer Laduma. You caught our attention when you directed an Instagram post to coach Steve Komphela the same day he was appointed as the head coach of Golden Arrows…

Riyaad Norodien: I have to put stuff out there and post videos or something – not that it’s going to work, but if you saw it, how many other people saw the message? And how many of those people have the goodness in their heart to say, okay, let me call Skillo you know what I’m saying?

DF: Have you tried to make contact with coach Steve directly?

RN: Not directly, no. I’ve had ex p eriences where I was in contact with Gavin Hunt, for example, and all he told me was: ‘we’re full’. Imagine a coach with that pedigree and a player with my pedigree. I messaged him and instead of saying, ‘okay come, let’s have a look’. All he said was: ‘we’re full or we’re not interested’.

DF: Does hearing stuff like that make you despondent at all?

RN:

Not necessarily because look, I’ve been through the worse – not the worst, but I’ve been through [situations] where I’ve been earning good amount to not having a contract anymore. I had to go right to the bottom and restart. So, I have already restarted basically and, I’m on my way up now. That’s why I decided to put that out there. If somebody sees it, maybe they will say, let’s give him a call, even if it’s just to come for trial or train with a team for a week or two, it will cost them nothing. They don’t pay for anything. That hotel is there. They can get the hotel from people they are sponsored by or anything where their players sleep. You know what I’m saying? That is so simple. It’s not like it’s rocket science man.

DF: Where are you in terms of your fitness because a lot of teams are looking for that now? RN:

I don’t even need to get fit, because I’ve been training on my own already, I just come from a good season in Rwanda. I don’t think people are aware. The people are aware that I went to the Rwanda but they’re not aware of what I did over there. I have a video on YouTube, but if somebody can just break it down and dissect it because someone can say, ‘there’s just another video, but I don’t have time to watch it now’, so they won’t know what’s in the video. But I know personally I just come from Rwanda now. I made six goals and about 10 assists in 25 games so you can do the math. We came second, we lost out on goal difference by seven goals, but we had the same points. I was one of the top players in the team. My contract is still valid now as we’re talking. I can go back to Rwanda, but they can’t pay me, and they’ve been ignoring me, so what must I do? I must stay at home.

DF: These top performances in Rwanda, did they manage to attract interest from top teams like Arm ée Patriotique Rwandaise who finished first? RN: Not directly, because the top team in Rwanda only use local based players. They don’t have other players, so they tried to change it this year. I sent messages personally to their Instagram pages, even to the coaches that were there. Anything that you could have thought of, I did. I’m still here at this point so maybe this interview is a good one and I don’t know how you can help me. But yeah, let’s just put our trust in God. I’m ready. Look, all you need in this life is a chance. So, all I need is a chance, what I do with that chance is up to me. If I mess it up, it’s on me, not anybody else. But I personally know my qualities, I know the football I play, I know the football that’s being played in the PSL at the moment. If you go to Cape Town City, when last did they win a trophy? It was in 2018 when I left them. Think about it. So, they let me go, thinking they’re going to score – but you haven’t been scoring because you’ve just been losing. The whole Cape Town City team of Benni [McCarthy] is gone. The structure is not there anymore, they’re not playing the same football. People don’t go and watch. Nobody’s going to go to the stadium if you don’t play attractive football. That’s a fact. That’s not me saying that. That’s a fact. Especially Capetonians, what Capetonian is going to go to the stadium? Now the reason City was good at that time with Benni is because he attracted the good people to the club.

DF: There’s also Stellenbosch where you could potentially fit in…

RN:

They are also looking to identify themselves – but they aren’t using locals. They’re

using a few locals like [Devon] Titus and [Deano] Van Rooyen because they come now within the structure maybe from a young age. But the rest of them, they’re just using foreigners. So now what does that say to ou r local boys? What are you asking them? What are you saying to them? Are you saying that they are not able to make it? That’s what you’re saying, because now you’re not taking somebody from here. When they announced the Bafana squad on Tuesday, how many players were there from Cape Town?

DF: Two players Khanyisa Mayo and Iqraam Rayners…

RN: Are you telling me out of how many teams that we have, how many players are there? But they only choose two Cape Town-based players, what are you saying to the rest of the Capetonians? That’s a big statement boss. I’m being serious with you. How many other people can give you the same example of what they went through with their life in football? I’m still a current footballer and I can still play. What about the ones that can’t play, where are they at? How do they see it?

DF: How does one make ends meet when you don’t have a team? We know you’re coaching the youngsters but how do you then maintain that standard of life that you had while having a team? RN: Look for me, while I was playing, I invested my money. I bought a house, right? So, with Ajax, Pirates, Platinum Stars and City. I never wasted my money, so I built a triple storey with four apartments. So, I’m busy with my apartments. So hence the reason when anybody asks me, ‘where you playing now?’ If I’m not playing, I’m on holiday. That’s my answer, I’m on holiday. I’m a businessman because now I’m doing my apartments so that they can come back me up.

DF: Why is Steve Komphela specifically the target of your post? Is he a coach that you feel can bring the best out of you?

RN:

It’s not just necessarily that because look, we’re going in a new direction, right? Steve was at Sundowns as a third head coach and then he went to (Moroka) Swallows as the main head coach, now something happened, and he went to Golden Arrows, right? That day he left for Arrows is the day I made that post. So, what my point is behind that is…he knows Arrows already, right? He sees the players that is within Arrows already, so now he comes as an external person himself. Now what he has in front of him is already there. So, what if he is missing one link. How can that missing link help? But if he doesn’t know about the missing link, how can he even know that there is somebody like that out there and imagine he takes that somebody and he adds it with what he has there already, whatever they’ve been doing, but this one person can come in, not that it has to be me, but I have to throw something out there. If it is so but if not, it’s God’s timing. Also, God can speak to you in a different way. ‘Relax, take your time, maybe it’s not open for that time now. So, I just thought there was an opportunity, you know…

RIGHT “I HAD TO GO BOTTOM AND TO THE I HAVE RESTART. SO, RESTARTED ALREADY AND, I’M ON BASICALLY NOW.” MY WAY UP

DF: We think that people forget that you’re only 28 because you’ve been playing for so long. You literally burst onto the scene as a teenager… RN:

I started young man and I think that’s where they forget about me. Yeah, because I started too young.

DF: If Steve Kompella reads this interview, which we’re sure he will. What would you say to him?

RN:

To any coach, the way I am as a footballer, you have to first understand the personality of the player himself within the structure that you want to bring, right? So, like at Sundowns, they are not a team anymore. It’s a business. So, whenever they say today, the business idea is we’re playing TP Mazembe, now they take players 11 or 18 players because they are already so big of a squad, right? So, they got the team, they take 18 players and say we’ll focus on them. The other guys can’t get upset, right? That’s what they need to understand about football. Sometimes you must wait your chance. Like now I’m waiting my chance. So, any coach that can listen to this, these will be my words to him. Coach, all I need is an opportunity on the field of play to showcase my talent to you. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to speak on the phone to you. I want you to allow me to come to your training field if it’s possible you and your club. And you really believe that Skillo can still do something for you? Just let him come to that four corners on the field and prove himself on the field, and then we’ll take it from there -simple!