The David Notoane that I
TIME. Where does it go? It was 1992 when a 23-year-old David Notoane pitched up at a Lightbody’s Santos training session for the first time. For us, the old guard at Santos, we never knew too much about him. But by the end of the training session, it was evident that the new man could play. He had the sweetest first touch, a confident demeanour and an infectious, gregarious personality that endeared him to the rest of the squad.
It feels like it was just the other day. Really, it does. I guess memories are like that. And, yet, 27 years have passed. Last week, my former Santos teammate Notoane was appointed as South Africa’s national Under-23 coach, tasked with qualifying the team for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
As they always say – and it’s a truism I’ve come across in many spheres of life and sport – “good things happen to good guys”.
I couldn’t be happier for
Notoane, who I regard as a really special human being. We developed a bond as players back then and became close friends – and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that this is the type of opportunity he has been craving. He’s worked hard to get where he is. Along the journey, there have been quite a few setbacks and many painful experiences – but, throughout the highs and lows, he’s held steadfast to the realisation of the dream. Now, as an officially appointed junior national team coach, Notoane can look back and say that all the hard work, all the sacrifice, was worth it.
But let’s just rewind a little more. Notoane was born in Atteridgeville, near Pretoria, and he’s always been a bit of go-getter. He arrived in the Mother City in 1989 and enrolled for a BSC degree at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), but his academic career was soon to take a back seat when football came calling.
Having starred for UWC’S football team in a friendly against Santos, then-coach Boebie Solomons and Santos captain Duncan Crowie were suitably impressed with the player’s performance against us, hence his arrival at training on that day in 1992. In fact, looking back at Notoane’s UWC days, an interesting aside is that his best mate as a student at the time was none other than the current vice-chancellor of that university: Tyrone Pretorius.
Santos were relegated in 1993, but the setback proved to be the catalyst for the meteoric rise to was abundantly evident, even back then, that he would branch off into coaching. He always had an analytical approach to the game and, after the 90 minutes of action, irrespective of the result, he would critically take apart performances, both the team and his own as an individual.
For me, it’s therefore no surprise that his dream of being a national coach has finally come to fruition. Notoane has a deep passion for the game. He’s a thinker, a planner and the country’s Under-23 squad, the next generation of Bafana Bafana players are, no doubt, in good hands.
After retiring in 2004, Notoane rapidly set about equipping himself, with regard to both certification and experience, for the next phase of his career. He spent his formative coaching years at Santos with Mitchell’s Plain United (at the time Santos’ Reserve Team), then