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ROGER DA COSTA (PART 3)

Now talk to us about Rainer Zobel. That man! Oh that man! Ha, ha, ha.

Yeah, he was something. To be fair though, all the coaches were characters in their own right, you know. Everyone was different. But Rainer, yeah, he was something, man. Some of the exercises he did… eish, he was something. He would always smoke cigarettes during practice. He was like… what’s the (name of the) Italian coach? Maurizio Sarri, the old Chelsea coach. He was like that. Hey, he would just smoke cigarettes the whole practice (session). He was wild, he was wild. He was a small man, and you know what they say, dynamite comes in small packages. He was a small man, but s**t, you didn’t want to p**s him off because he would get wild that guy, ha, ha, ha.

As a mlungu, did you ever partake in muti rituals at the club?

Ha, ha, ha! Yeah, I did, man, I did. I don’t know what it was, but I remember, especially that first year, we had to put our boots in the middle of the… I don’t know… and the kit manager would spray something on them, I don’t know what it was. I think maybe it was slow release muti because the first year, I don’t know if it worked too good, but the second year we were on fire. I never experienced too much of that though, certainly not at Mpumalanga Black Aces. I do know though that there were some teams that were heavy with muti.

Off you went to Aces after Moroka Swallows…

Yes. You know, again, I count myself lucky. Looking back on my career, I’m grateful because I got to play for two of the most legendary coaches in South Africa, Gordon (Igesund) and Clive Barker. I count myself very, very fortunate to have done that. I’m not sure how many players got to play for both. But playing for Clive was a different experience, man. He was one of those guys you would run through a brick wall for. And he never used to raise his voice, he never used to shout. He just knew how to… I had never met anybody like that, where he knew how to get the best out of everybody. You know, everybody has different personalities, but he just knew how to get the best out of each and every one of us. He was one of those guys you just didn’t wanna let down.

Right.

Aces was a good time. We had a very good team on paper. I think they were building a good squad. I mean, we had… I remember when I signed, (Thanduyise)

Khuboni signed, (Mzivukile) Tom signed from Golden Arrows. (Collins) Mbesuma was there and Old-John Mabizela was there. Those were some good players, man. I mean, who else? Abia Nale. Aubrey Ngoma was there on the wing. I just think they didn’t give the squad enough time, you know. But it was a different experience because it was kind of a new squad, they’d made a lot of signings. It was very professional, but it wasn’t as close-knit like it was with Swallows. But again, (at) Swallows we had been together for several years. But playing for Clive was special, man. I’m grateful and fortunate to have been able to play for Clive Barker. It was always fun, always a good time with Clive.

Then came that interesting Cyprus.

stint in

Aris Limassol, my man! S**t, where do I start with that? So, I left to go there. Dino Ndlovu, me and him were at Aces together. He left to go to another team in Cyprus and we had two different experiences. His team, it was a good team and he did extremely well over there that season, whereas mine… Put it this way, our club president, I think now he’s in jail, to be honest. The first time I met this guy was in Italy. We went to Italy for pre-season and I get a call. We were playing against Livorno, a Serie B team (at the time – now Serie D), that day. That night, we were going to play against them. So, you know, during the day, you are chilling in the hotel, watching movies, relaxing and getting ready for the game. Anyway, my phone rings, I pick it up and he says, “Come up, I wanna meet you.” I’m like, he’s the club president, he owns the team, I’ve never met him, so I have to go meet him. I walk in there, my man, and hey, this guy is sitting on a f***ing couch in his underpants, ha, ha, ha. This is the first time I’m meeting this guy. I’m like, “What the hell?” This is weird, man. Anyway, he tells me, “Welcome to the team”, yada, yada, yada. But he then says, “Today, my boy, we have to lose the match.” I’m thinking, “What does he mean we have to lose the match?”

This doesn’t sound good…

I think it was about eight of us that left that year. So, yeah, man, it was a horrible experience in Cyprus for me just because you leave family and your country and all that. To go to Europe is great, but then to have to deal with an owner like that, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It makes you fall out of love with the sport you love. At that point, it’s not the Beautiful Game anymore.

So true. Tell us something, did you ever play in a game over there that made you feel suspicious, either because some players were making stupid mistakes in your box or something of that sort? My man, I don’t know. I never asked. Any games I played in, we won or we were tied. You know, if we lost a game, it was because we lost, it wasn’t for some weird stuff. When I left, the only people I kept in touch with were most of the guys that left together with me. So, I never asked. You know, that’s not something you wanna bring up in the dressing room, to say, “Hey boys, which one of you guys are cheats?” Ha, ha, ha. One of the guys that left with me is now the captain of the Malta national team. We had a meeting and we all said the same thing, that firstly, it’s illegal, and secondly, you don’t wanna be part of anything like that, man. It’s just… it’s not what you play the sport for. Then, I last I heard… I think maybe that’s why they had to sell the club to the new people because I think he was investigated and everybody involved that was guilty is now in jail. So, they got them, ha, ha, ha.

I then found out that he was betting on the games and all this s**t. That’s ultimately the reason that I left because I didn’t want to be part of that s**t. It was a bad experience. I think he was being investigated by FIFA for match-fixing and got arrested. That’s why I think he’s in jail or some s**t. It was wild, man. He was paying some of our players (to make the team lose) and I was not part of this. So, half our team left in December because of that, because you don’t wanna be a part of that. That was halfway through my contract and… I mean, that ultimately ended my playing days in Europe. I didn’t wanna be a part of any of that because as a player, when you are attached to a club that is Hectic, hectic, Roger. involved in things like that, I Yeah, it’s wild, man. But now, the new mean it’s some serious stuff. owners… I still keep up with the club, the new owners have done right and (Mihlali) Mayambela is doing well there. You know, I’ve got some friends in Cyprus… they weren’t players, just some people I met at restaurants and coffee shops. Just people that didn’t play but support the club. They tell me that they love him over there. He’s done really well. Also, he brings the South African flair over there that they’re not used to either, ha, ha, ha. So, it’s great. I could never do that, so it’s not like I brought it there when I was there before him. I could never nutmeg myself, never mind someone else, ha, ha, ha. At least he’s doing it right, man.

Fantastic. That’s where we leave it. It’s been a great three weeks with you and we’ll never get enough of last week’s story about the great Chinese escape, ha, ha, ha.

Hey, my brother! Those were good times. Now we can look back. I also wanna take this chance also to thank you, man, for your service. You know, 17 years over there is a long run. You’ve always made it entertaining. Great job, man. Congrats and I wish you well on your next chapter.

You’re too kind. Readers and fans out there buy the paper to hear from their heroes, you guys. Without you, there is no Soccer Laduma.

That’s where you got it wrong, man. We might be the content, but you’re the hero because most soccer players can’t read or write! If we don’t have people like you to write it for us, no one will ever know the stories, so you’re the real hero, ha, ha, ha.