My Dream Team
Former Orlando Pirates defender Edelbert Dinha selects his bestever XI from past teammates.
When Edelbert Dinha joined Seven Stars from Zimbabwe side CAPS United, very few fans knew who he was. But by the end of his PSL career, he was regarded as one of the best all-round players in i the th league. l After Aft Seven Stars and Ajax Cape Town, he moved to Orlando Pirates and later Mpumalanga Black Aces. He picks his Dream Team from the best players he played with. 1 Goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar
I played with Bruce – ‘ The jungle man’ – in the national team. Bruce was a worldclass goalkeeper, and he was always joking around to put opponents off. When we were defending corner-kicks, he would sing a funny song and sometimes dance, and opponents would be looking at him instead of the ball. He was a character. He was good at organizing the defence and a great shot stopper.
Right-back Lucky Lekgwathi
The best right-back has to be Lucky because of the energy that he had going up and down the field. A very tough defender to beat, he would provide goals as well, whether it’s free-kicks or open play. When he overlapped, his crosses were effective.
Left-back Dillon Sheppard
My old Seven Stars and Ajax Cape Town teammate, ‘Sheppie’ had an educated left boot. He was a good thinker, not a tough tackling defender but knew how to position himself. He reminded me of David Nyathi – he was very intelligent and a very good crosser of the ball. He was also good with free-kicks.
Centre-back Papi Khomane
I played with many great centre-backs, including Edward Malinga and Tonic Chabalala, but Papi Khomane was the best. A very aggressive defender, he had speed and when he had the ball he would just play it to the nearest person without wasting time. He would win aerial balls and no-one could compete with him.
Centre-back Norman Mapeza
I would put Norman at the back next to Papi – a world class player and he would be my captain too. He had all the qualities that you wanted from a centre-back, very strong and very smart. He could join the midfield and was good at organising the defence – an all-round team player.
Central Midfield Esrom Nyandoro
Esrom was a different type of a holding midfielder in the sense that he could take shots at goal and score. He was good at playing and making sure that everyone is protected. He could pinpoint passes from left to right. He scored crucial goals at Sundowns.
Right Wing Steven Pienaar
‘Schillo’ was very young when he joined Ajax Cape Town from the School of Excellence, but he would give you everything you wanted from a creative player. We all knew that he was destined for greatness from a young age – what a talented player.
Playmaker Benedict Vilakazi
‘Little Napoleon’ was a genius and had
great timing with his runs into the box. You would always find him in the box and he would score goals. When you wanted him to play, he was there, when you wanted him to score goals, he would do that too.
9 Forward Benjani Mwaruwari
Benjani was a top-class player and he would bang in the goals. He was a forceful striker and always used his right foot effectively. He was one player you couldn’t bump off the ball easily – he had a strong right foot. Pass him a ball and you would find it in the back of the net.
10 Playmaker Peter Ndlovu
Peter was on another level. The experience that he got in Europe, it was unbelievable. He made football look very easy, and we could all learn from him about how football should be played. The game should be played with brains, not just legs, that’s what I learned from him.
11 Left wing Gift Leremi
The late Gift Leremi, what a player. He was destined for Europe. He was powerful, used his skill and pace to beat defenders and could shoot with both legs, take on players and could score goals. He was that type of a winger that would give you everything.