Phakaaathi.co.za Bhele is an example for others to follow
One cannot help but fall in love with Siyabonga Nomvethe. The veteran striker still runs like a small boy and behaves like he has just started his football career. The way he respects everyone around him – from coaches, fans, team-mates and the media – he makes you wish life had a rewind button so you could make him an 18-year-old again.
I remember as a young boy listening to the radio when he, Phumlani Mkhize and Sibusiso Zuma broke into the Absa Premiership with the now defunct African Wanderers.
They were a nightmare for defenders who never knew who to mark between the three.
He then moved on to Kaizer Chiefs, while Mkhize and Zuma went to Orlando Pirates and continued to have flourishing careers except for Mkhize who unfortunately fell by the wayside.
Nomvethe is the talk of the town these days as he is back in the Premiership at AmaZulu where he is now aged 39 and still plays with the energy of a teenager.
“Scoring depends on the hunger of the striker. Goals are there but they won’t just come. You need to go out and get them as a striker,” he told us during our Page 9 interview and it caught me. It hit a nerve especially with the lack of prolific scorers in our otherwise very competitive league.
His interview coincides with a feature we are running on Page 7 where we look at eight strikers we believe have a chance of scoring 20 goals next season – and he is obviously one of them.
His energy and hunger to achieve more should be used as an example for youngsters. We must challenge them to emulate the great “Bhele”.
With Nomvethe and new strikers like Sedwyn George who – just two years ago – was dreaming about turning professional as he pursued an engineering qualification at university and Gustavo Paez, there should be goals aplenty next season. Exciting times lie ahead indeed.
While on the subject of strikers, a 15-year-old said something that left me in two minds. Amajimbos’ Junior Nare says in his interview: “Many a times I see strikers who just shoot towards goal; they do not pick a spot and focus on it.” This from a 15-year-old? My mind tells me he is over-confident while it also says this is a good sign and we should encourage it because scoring goals needs one to have plenty in terms of confidence and sometimes arrogance.
Fans will be hoping the goals will start pouring in at FNB Stadium this Saturday where the giants of our time – Pirates and Chiefs – battle it out in the Carling Black Label Cup. Tendai Ndoro is an almost guarantee to start for the Buccaneers as he was leading with votes at the time of going to print while Paez should also start for Amakhosi.
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