Dad’s passion pushes Naicker to new heights
SHERWYN Naicker has broken through cultural barriers and preconceptions about his race and height as a goalkeeper to fulfill a father’s dream.
Just over a year after almost giving up the game, Naicker has made his Premier Soccer League breakthrough with three clean sheets for promoted Jomo Cosmos at 24.
Naicker’s story seems to shed light on why there have been surprisingly few Indian South Africans — you could perhaps count them on two hands — who have played in the PSL.
Short for a keeper, Naicker also had to battle preconceptions that Indians just don’t play top-level football. A father’s passion pushed Naicker through barriers.
“My dad, Gabriel, was a big Manning Rangers fan before he moved from Chatsworth [in Durban] to Alberton in Johannesburg when I was very young,” Naicker said. “He dreamt of being a soccer player. So when he saw I had the ability, he backed me.”
Naicker, who makes up for his lack of centimetres with athleticism, believes it was his father’s hardness that set him apart from talented Indian youngsters who don’t make it to professional football.
“He basically forced me to move out at 13 to go to the School of Excellence,” the keeper said.
“Normally Indian parents don’t do that. Their kids are everything and they shelter them. You’ve got to stay at home, be safe, study, get a profession. Soccer’s not considered a safe profession.
“If you’re not persistent you won’t get anywhere. Especially when people say, ‘You’re Indian, why do you want to play soccer?’. I’ve heard that my whole life. You’ve got to block that out and push on.”
Naicker had played a game for a PSL team before this season, but it was in the Caf Champions League for SuperSport United against Lesotho team Matlama FC in 2011, and bizarrely it was off the bench as a striker due to injuries.
Behind in the pecking order to Rowen Fernandez, Naicker asked to be loaned to Mpumalanga Black Aces then Milano United, both in the NFD. During this period he almost gave up the game.
“The NFD in the Cape is tough. Fans can be hostile and the wind can affect your game. You do well, the next game the team loses but you did OK, then you’re not even on the bench.
“In my second season at Milano I played 10 games. I told my dad, ‘I’m done’. I told myself maybe play one more season, save up to study.”
That season turned out to be the keeper’s best. On the recommendation of William Shongwe, Naicker’s goalkeepercoach from age 16 in SuperSport’s youth system, the keeper got a trial at Cosmos. He was met with characteristic scepticism, but owner, coach and ultimate talent spotter Jomo Sono showed his renowned tendency to buck a trend.
Sono put the keeper through a three-week ordeal where the Cosmos players were told to mshayeni le ndiya (hit the In- dian) with shots at goal. He came through it and was signed, and by the end of the season Ezenkosi got promoted.
“It’s something you’ll remember your entire life,” Naicker said. “You know the big man [Sono] has done well for himself, and now you’re a part of that Cosmos legacy.”
It has been a tough start in the PSL. Sono — promoted and relegated twice in four seasons with inexperienced teams between 2009 and 2012 — has opted for a similar approach this season and three goalless draws have raised eyebrows.
The Cosmos players were told to mshayeni le ndiya (hit the Indian) with shots at goal