Dlamini brings up a super century
Njabulo Ngidi
AMANDA Dlamini speaks just as she plays. Every word is carefully thought out, but not to a point where she talks like a robot.
There is no cliché-filled language that many athletes use, where they talk about taking things “one game at a time” as if it’s possible otherwise.
It all comes naturally to “Toki”. Just like it comes naturally on the field, where there is a lot of thought that goes into her every pass. That’s critical as Banyana Banyana’s heartbeat.
If she isn’t making them tick, she is the team’s prankster. But the technical team got her well and truly when they tricked her into the captaincy in 2011. They told her that she would do it for just one match, against Zimbabwe in December.
When that match passed they told her the same thing for the next game, and the next until she spent almost two years as captain.
Even though her tenure was short, she had a huge impact, leading the team to their first participation in the Olympics in 2012.
Three years after she relinquished the armband, she is still referred to as captain. It’s a compliment that reminds her of the anguish she went through when she decided to step down.
“I thought about it for three to four months, before I announced it, whether it was the right thing to do or not,” Dlamini said. “I asked myself, was I willing to compromise my happiness and potential because I am clinging to a title? It was about the passion for the sport, wanting to grow and do better. I think I have been able to do that (after relinquishing the captaincy).
“I was hurt quite a lot (after making the announcement) because I got a lot of messages on social media from people who were disappointed.
“Some of my teammates also expressed disappointment. But it was something personal that I had to go through.
“I think that with the targets that I had set for myself – completing my studies, growing in my game and trying to improve – I met those objectives because of that decision.
“There’s never been a day that I regretted it. I have realised that being captain isn’t just about the title or the armband, but about the work that you do and your interaction with people.
“People still refer to me as the captain even now. It’s not because I wear the armband but it’s the manner I present myself to them and the way I represent the nation.”
Tonight, at 7pm South African time, at Soldier Field in Chicago against the No 1 ranked United States of America, Dlamini will represent the nation for the 100th time.
She will join a group of five players who have reached that milestone in South African football.
She didn’t know about this, up until Safa’s media manager, Matlhohomola Morake, told her after the second friendly match against the Netherlands, when she made her 99th appearance last month.
That’s because she didn’t think she would make it this far, let alone earn a second cap after being handed her debut against Nigeria in 2007.
It was on July 27, five days after she turned 19, when she came on as a substitute with Banyana Banyana trailing 5-0. They lost that match.
But she did what coach Augustine Makalakalane told her to do. “Go out there and give me a reason to call you up for the next camp.”
She was in every camp after that, whether the coach was Makalakalane or Joseph Mkhonza or now Vera Pauw.
The petite girl who was accompanied by her parents to her first training with Durban Ladies in 2004 has transformed into a giant of a woman.
She is one of the most recognisable figures in Banyana Banyana. Companies like Nike, Danone, Tsogo Sun and Jockey have named her ambassador for their brands, and SuperSport roped her in as an analyst. Being recognised by such brands made soldiering on with football worth it.
Dlamini thought about quitting a number of times, so that she could get a job where she would be paid better than the meagre earnings Banyana Banyana players get. But she didn’t. She worked hard so that the women who will come after her don’t have to suffer like she did.
It’s the same mentality that saw her start the Amanda Dlamini Girls Foundation, so that rural girls wouldn’t have to struggle like she did to get to the top. However, all those struggles are worth it now that she is at the top – enjoying the fruits of her labour. She has fun for a living.
“I have known football all my life,” Dlamini said. “It’s my life. When I am playing football I am at my happy place. It’s a sacred space.
“There are challenging times but I constantly bear in mind that I am living my dream. I can’t give up on it.
“Every training session, as tough as it is, I need to apply myself because I need to play the following game. It’s the standards that I set for myself – that I want to accomplish certain things and grow as a player.
“Just being in the national team is amazing. You get to travel. I have realised so many dreams because of football.
“I’ve been to tertiary through a sport bursary. I have travelled the world. I am being recognised by some of the biggest brands in the world because of football. That’s where my life is, on the football field.”