MARAWAAN BANTAM

Heita, Beano...

Ha, ha, ha, how’s it, Lunga? It’s been a long time, man. I’m working these days and I have two laaities who are also playing soccer. I miss playing football, but I’m a madala now, so they can carry the baton. I’m coaching a team called Jamestown United and we play in the LFA here in Jamestown (a settlement on the outskirts of Stellenbosch) – this will be my second season now with the team. Do you know that I only stopped playing last season? But me, Rowen Hendricks, Leonard Casner, Kenwyn Manuel, Craig Bianchi, Gavin Manuels and all the other ex-pros from Cape Town have started an Over-35s team and we play our games at the turf there next to Athlone Stadium. We joined a league recently, but the season was short and we won the league. So, ja, we’re still active...

Great to hear! Yours was a decent playing career that started in your home province, took you to Johannesburg and then back. Let’s share memories with the Soccer Laduma readers!

Yeah, I started out at Saxon Rovers in the old First Division that had teams like Seven Stars, Vasco da Gama and others. I was 17. After a spell with Avendale Athletico, I joined Santos and made my PSL debut at the age of 26. I played for eight years in the elite league and that on its own was an achievement for me. I enjoyed myself. What made it easier for me is that I was at home – I had my family and everything around me. The team was well run and I found experienced footballers there like Musa Otieno, Edries Burton, Kamaal Sait, Sebastian Bax and Jean-Marc Ithier. My roommate in camp was mainly Jeremy Jansen and the biggest character in the team was Duran Francis. My word, he used to catch on a lot of crap! He would do funny stuff really. While the guys were sleeping, he’d go downstairs to the lounge and fetch the spare keys to their rooms. He would then open the room and throw a water bottle hard against the wall. All this would happen while the guys were in deep sleep, so you can imagine the shock right after the loud bang on the wall, ha, ha, ha. We would laugh about these pranks, but some of the experienced guys were not impressed. They didn’t like it. Another one was Jainudeen Lakay... that one was naughty hey. He would go to the guys’ rooms, steal their takkies and hide them away. When the guys woke up, they would look for their shoes all over the place – it was really funny, ha, ha, ha. As for Jansen, he was known for his Marawaan Bantam played a lot of First Division football before making his PSL debut for Santos in 2003. Upon his People’s Team departure some five years later, what followed were three-and-a-half seasons at Bidvest Wits and two campaigns at Mpumalanga Black Aces. “I broke my ankle in my second season (2011/12) at Aces and my contract was coming to end and they didn’t renew it,” he states. ‘Beano’, as he is affectionately known, then returned to the Cape, where he wound down his career by turning out for such teams as Cape Town All Stars and Steenberg United. poor dressress sense,sense wwhichc Tyrenyren Arendserense and an Jonathan Solomons teased him a lot about. The guys would come to training dressed nicely, but ‘Maya’ would rock up in clothes that were a mismatch of colours. It was a disaster!

You then moved to Bidvest Wits after half-a-decade at the club...

When I went to Jo’burg, everything was new, as it was my first time away. But I got used to it very quickly because I had guys like Moeneeb Josephs, Ashraf Hendricks, Manuel and Vogen Les. We got very close when we were up there.

Apparently, cliques were all the rage at the club back then.

Ja, but when we went onto the field, we were a team. You get groups everywhere... even at Mpumalanga Black Aces there were groups when I was there... but the team spirit was there. At the time, Wits had a good mixture of white, coloured and black players... I mean, we had Phillip Evans, Dale Studzinski and Neil Winstanley. Geez, Winstanley was such a character! He was almost like a Cape Coloured in that he could swear a lot. He could joke with everyone in CLIFFORD MULENGA ON BANTAM “Oh, I remember him! The first time I signed a PSL contract was with Bidvest Wits and that’s where I met him. He was one of the senior players in the team who welcomed me warmly. He was always smiling and joking with everyone. He really encouraged me to work hard and do my thing. I must also say that he was one of those players who had a perfect pass. He would put you through on goal and all that was left of you as a striker was to do your business. I only have warm memories of that man and he is one of the best players I’ve played with.” thee teameam andan we wouldwou alla laugh.aug Butu there, ere man, some players would get angry really quickly. Eish, I don’t know if I should tell you this because now it’s going to be all over the papers...

Ha, ha... try us.

There was lots of infighting between players at the time. I don’t know what was the problem, but I think it had to do with the stress of not getting positive results on the field. In my first season, we were struggling. We were on top foror mostmos oof thee firstrs rounround anand then,en inn the e second round, all of a sudden, we started to struggle – I think we didn’t win a game in six matches! That made things difficult and people were fighting. Everything went wrong. One tackle made and people would fight! It was crazy.

Give us an example.

I’m not going to mention names, but we played a friendly at Marks Park one day. I think someone gave a wrong pass and then the guy the pass was intended for got angry. I took my eye away for a second and, next thing I know, fists were flying. That was hectic for a professional team. But other than that it was good. Moeneeb was our team captain and he was a real leader on and off the pitch. His character speaks for itself. He can save a match for you and is definitely one of the best goalkeepers in South Africa.

How did you find things at Aces?

The club was already in the PSL when I joined them and, that season, they signed 17 players. By the time we were starting to gel, we were deep in the relegation zone. There were a couple of games left and we were always playing catch-up. We had a massive pre-season, but when the season started, everything just crumbled. I made many friends there in Witbank and the way the people treated me was unbelievable. I was close to Lindokuhle Mbatha, Buti Sithole and the late Joseph Henyekane. My fellow Capetonian, Thomrick October, was my best friend, and he was very quiet. When things were not going his way, he tended to go into his shell and didn’t want to play. The funny guy was Mpho Maleka. He teased everyone, from Mbatha to Henye- kane k to Denis Onyango, and some of the guys would get angry.

What do you remember as your most embarrassing moment?

It was when I took my first penalty for Santos in the semi-final of the Absa Cup up in Johannesburg. In the shootout, I kicked the first one and Greg Etafia saved it. After the game, I was crying! I laugh when I think about it now. The game was live on TV and I think that made it worse. Everyone was consoling me, but I just kept on crying, crying and crying. I couldn’t believe I had missed that penalty! If you ask me about the saddest moment, it was when I got that broken ankle at Aces. That was my first serious injury in my entire PSL career. Oh, let me tell you this one... we played Kaizer Chiefs in the Coca Cola Cup at Athlone Stadium. In the first half, Arthur Zwane ran with his shoulder against my head and, next thing I knew, I woke up at Gatesville Medical Centre! I was concussed. It might sound funny now, but my parents were in the grandstand watching and they got such a fright. They got worried when they saw me with a brace around my neck and being stretchered into the ambulance. Zwane had hit me just on top of my eye and I was out! The doctor told me that if I got another concussion, I would have to quit football. But I continued playing for a long time and my highlights were signing my first contract with Santos, winning the Nedbank Cup with Wits and shining for them.

Beano, it’s been good catching up with you.

Thanks, man. My two boys, who are six and eight years old respectively, really love football and can talk to me about the game the whole day. They are leaving for the Manchester Cup in England on 16 April and maybe one day I’m gonna see them in Soccer Laduma!

“Next thing I know, fists were flying.”