I am a phone call away

YOU CAN FIND IT’S RARE WHERE SAY ‘LET’S PICK PEOPLE WHO WHAT UP AND SEE EACH OTHER ON MANY CAN KNOCK WE DO’. YOU JUST PEOPLE WILL DOORS, BUT AND BACK TO YOU’ SAY ‘I’LL GET LIFE. MOVE ON WITH THEN THEY IT IS. THAT’S HOW

After leaving Soweto giants Orlando Pirates in 2018, Ayanda Gcaba had a difficult career and could not find a home to settle at for a long period of time. Not much has been said about the 38-year-old over the last few years, with opportunities to play the game at a professional level proving hard to come by. He played for Platinum Stars, Royal AM and Jomo Cosmos following his departure from the Buccaneers and had an opportunity to work as a coach in the development at Randburg Football Club not so long ago but is currently not working as he waits to make his next move. Soccer Laduma’s Tshepang Mailwane tracked Gcaba down to talk about what’s been happening in his career over the last few years as he confirmed that he has not yet retired from the beautiful game.

Tshepang Mailwane: Hola Ayanda, thanks for making time to have a chat with Soccer Laduma. How is life going and what have you been up to?

Ayanda Gcaba:

I am in Durban at the moment. I usually just come check up on the family and then go back to Joburg. For me, there is not much happening in Durban. It’s better in Joburg because you get to connect with people and just be busy. You get to watch games and you get to be in the surroundings of football and other stuff.

TM: These days, a lot of players do not really announce when they retire. What’s your status?

AG:

I do not know how to put it because I train and do everything. It’s just that I have not been out to any team to train or to say I am going for assessments and all of that. Here in South Africa, when you reach your 30s, they say you are done. Sometimes you just have to look at reality, but there are also many ways of looking at reality. Either a person wants to work with you or they do not want to work with you because to convince someone or to say ‘this person is good and I recommend this person because he has done this and this’…it goes with the coaches.

TM: So, to be clear, you have not retired?

AG:

Yes, you can say that. I am still okay (to play). That’s how I see it.

TM: Why are you still holding on?

AG:

It’s the love of the game more than anything. For most of us, football was all about fun when we started. It got serious because money got involved. It was an incentive for you to keep on living because it’s a day-today thing. It’s a job because you wake up every morning and go play football. You go out there, you run, you sweat, and you get paid. It’s like a service. It’s like someone is paying me to go entertain people. You make money out of that.

TM: Why don’t you knock on doors to try to get a club, instead of waiting?

AG:

People can give you the cold shoulder. It’s rare where you can find people who say ‘let’s pick each other up and see what we do’. You can knock on many doors, but people will just say ‘I’ll get back to you’ and then they move on with life. That’s how it is. I can do my part, but the rest is up to that person. You can try to convince someone, but it depends on how that person feels about the situation at that time.

TM: You were recently coaching at Randburg Football Club. What was that experience like?

AG:

It was nice because it was the first time (coaching) for me. I was coaching in the GDL (Gauteng Development

League). I was helping in the U15 and then I went to the U13 as the season was going towards the end because they were struggling a bit. It was better because I had a good understanding with the kids. They survived and did well and the season finished. I was under a program with them to see how things go. Probably I will get something permanent. But for me to get something permanent, I have to go do my coaching badges. I have to at least have a D-license and then go upwards. So, I was still under their program because I had not retired. I had just come from playing for a club in Limpopo called Emmanuel FC in Giyani. I was there for a couple of months and then from there I came back to Joburg. I sat around a bit and then I thought let me be active while I was waiting because I was saying I still want to play because I still have the love for the game. So, I was under their program, and I coached until the end of the season. I had spoken to them and they said I could come back and coach and do my licenses while I coach. But I had to come back home because my grandmother was not alright. She had an operation, so I thought I should come back and check how things are at home.

TM: When do you plan on doing your coaching badges? AG:

I saw there were dates that were released recently, but I just have to find time to go back to Joburg and do everything. There’s admin and costs as well.

TM: Is coaching something you always wanted to do or are you doing because it’s there as an option?

AG:

It’s there. Not to save I would have loved (to do it), but for me it’s something that is there. I think I do have it in me because I played football and I know football. It’s just about how you as a person connect with people and the players. We interact and have that right relationship for the players to give their best on the field. We know how it is, so for us it’s all about guidance more than anything. It’s about pushing someone so that they can see that they are the best and that they can compete. I thought that when I am done playing, I would do something else in the football circle and do other things on the side because you have to have something that will keep sustaining so that you don’t only focus on football.

TM: So, looking at what you are saying, do you see coaching being a long-term thing for you?

AG:

Well, depending on time. I want to do and venture into other things, besides football. Football is important because I know I have to give back because football has done a lot for me. Without football, I probably would not have travelled on the continent, and I would not have been known by people.

TM: What are some of the things you would want to do outside of football?

AG:

I have a friend and people who are into mining. They buy trucks and all those things to make an income, so that’s one. They are into estates as well. I am still learning from them and all those things. Those are things I’d like to do on the side, but people will also still see me as Ayanda who is coaching.

TM: Ayanda, what do you make of how your career went after leaving Orlando Pirates?

AG:

It had too many ups and downs. It was never the same after that. I went to Platinum Stars and played for a few months. I sat a bit after that and then I went to Royal AM. Then I sat a bit again before going to Jomo (Cosmos). I played for the whole season. But life goes on and I don’t want to be stuck on that forever or to have regrets. I don’t have to have rebecause grets. I can be thankful I got a chance to build relationplayed ships with people and I with a lot of great players that I never thought I would play with. I used to see some of them on TV and I admired them, until I got to play with them.

TM: But why do you think things did not go well for you after leaving Pirates?

AG:

I don’t know. I don’t want to speculate. I could speculate all I want. The coaches speak amongst themselves. They go to coaching courses, and they share a lot. Some can ask ‘what do you think about this player? Must I sign this player?’ So, sometimes it depends on how someone sees things. It’s possible that someone can kill your career bePeople cause of something they say. are not the same. But I would not say I had a bad relationship with any coach here in South Africa. I only worked with a few. Even with agents, they can only help you until a certain time because they always go with who is hot. You can be hot for a while and then from there it’s over with you. Sometimes, the chairmen and coaches look who your agent is, and it depends on whether they see eye-to-eye or not. These days, in South Africa, football is ruled more by agents than players. For them, it’s all about making money.

TM: So, you are saying the influence of agents is that deep?

AG:

Yes, it’s that deep. If you go in deeper, you will see a lot of things and you’d think ‘these things are happening?’ There is a lot that gets swept under the carpet. You can go anywhere in Mzansi, and you will see many good players, but are we promoting enough? We say we have to wait for a player to reach the age of 21. But you go to other places, players who are 16, 17 and so on and are playing in the first team and some are playing in the national team. But we can’t do that. We say we have to wait until someone is 20 or 21 and then we see if he is capable of playing in the first team in the PSL. We kill the spirit of people and others cheat. Other people buy a contract. How can you buy a contract? For you to get a contract in the PSL or NFD, you have to take out something (money). That happens.

TM: If that really happens, then it’s ruining the game…

AG:

Yes, it is. There are people who are purely talented and the only thing they need is the platform and showcase their talent and get paid accordingly. For us, to be seen and recognized, we had to fight really hard to earn your spot. But now it’s easy for people. They check your profile and then see you two or three times and then you play. It’s that easy.

TM: Before we let you go, are you happy with how your career has gone up to now?

AG:

Yes, I’d say so, but the way it ended…but at the end of the day it’s football. There are many others where things just ended the way they did for me. Like we see you now doing great and then from there you change teams and then it goes down the drain just like that and you don’t know what happened for it to lead to that. But I always say, whoever is interested, I am a phone call away. What do I need to prove? I have been around the block. I have the experience. I played at AFCON. I was with Pirates for six or seven years. What more?

TM: Let’s hope you get that opportunity. Thank you so much for your time.

AG: Thank you. ❐