Gopi Naidu

Raiding mango trees was another favourite pastime.

While in primary school, Naidu’s family moved to Howrah Road, Isipingo Hills, into a newly built home his father bought with his savings. Only 15 homes stood there, surrounded by sugar cane fields.

Fond memories for Naidu were trips to the local sugar mill and orchid, and watching movies at Gemini Cinema.

The chops and sausages his mother, Radha, prepared for their Sunday breakfast was always a welcome treat. Best of all were his school days. “We had teachers who made schooling fun and those experiences influenced me to become a teacher.”

He excelled in the classroom in much the same way he did on the sportsfield.

Natal High School caps for football, athletics and cricket were rewards for his all-round ability and dedicated training regimen, which included sessions on the beach and gallops from Isipingo to Merebank.

The 400m, 800m and 1 500m races were his speciality.

Naidu rated winning the 800m event at Curries Fountain (1971) and again in Bosmont, Gauteng (1972) as his best moments on the athletics track.

“They stood out because they were tightly contested races and I won both races by a narrow margin.”

West Indian cricketer Keith Barker saw Naidu in action as an opening batsman through the influence of respected cricket administrator John Pillay. Barker marvelled at his ability, commenting that he had the talent to play at the highest level.

But Naidu’s heart was set on football.

While at high school he played for Isipingo Hills FC in the local league, along with his brothers.

His uncle, Bobby Naidoo, was connected to the Balu Parekhowned Verulam Suburbs team that played in the Federation Professional League. Naidu, front left, with the Natal High School’s football team.

Once his uncle travelled to Isipingo, on the recommendation of friends, to scout a talented player for Suburbs and realised that his nephew was the player his friends had raved about.

Naidu joined Suburbs in 1974 at a time when the likes of Burri Martin, Preston Julius, Vincent Pillay, Gonna Arumugam and Paul Bishops were the senior pros.

“My granny had always tried to dissuade me from playing football and would say: ‘It doesn’t pay’.”

When Naidu collected his first wages of R25 from the club he gave the money to her and said: “It pays.”

He made a winning debut for the club against Essop Pahad’s Fordsburg Dynamos team.

Playing as a striker, he scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory.

His most memorable outing as a footballer was the 3-1 win against Cape Town United in 1978, which was watched by about 25 000 people at Curries.

Naidu was asked to “man-mark” a highly rated UK professional playing for the visitors.

He not only played his opponent out of the game, he scored two of his side’s goals.

“Each time I touched the ball in that game, the fans would roar in approval,” Naidu said.

Although he signed for only one professional club in his professional career, he got to wear the colours of Suburbs United, Aces United, Avalon Athletic and Manning Rangers.

“Each time new directors took over the club, they changed the name,” Naidu said.

Unfortunately he never lifted any major silverware but he was a losing finalist twice. His playing days ended in 1990. By then he was registered as a player/coach with Manning Rangers, which marked the end of his association with professional football.

He was also playing an active role in schools football.

Naidu selected and coached the Natal team and served as the national convener of football under the old non-racial sports organisation SA Council on Sport.

There he got work with the likes of Clinton Larsen, Brendan Augustine, Brendan Silent, Neil Ranganathan and Delron Buckley, who became professionals.

When he joined the staff at Witteklip in 1977 he was well received because he was a celebrated footballer, and Croftdene had a strong football culture.

However, he took some time to understand some of the community’s challenges, but once he did, he made his mission to help those in need and the locals regarded him as family in return.

He married Shilo, a bank employee, in 1977. They had met in high school.

The couple’s son, Dharshan, showed some of his father’s sporting pedigree when made the KZN High School cricket team, along with Proteas player Hashim Amla.

While Naidu is enjoying retirement he lends a helping hand at Witteklip.