Chabangu: I learnt the hard way

There wasw a time whenw Lerato o Chabangu hadh a magnetic eff ffect on women, espe ecially the beautifu ul, skimpily clad type who tend to share the same space with professional footballers outside the field. After all, things were going his way on the field, and money was no object. This was a time when nothin ng else mattere ed to him other r than joie de vivre, the ca arefree enjoyme ent of life. A time whenw he ignored phon ne calls from deadlin ne-chasing journalists eagere for an audience e with him. Well, that ti ime seems like a lifetim me away now, if his fallf from ce since leavingg Chippa ted in 2016 is to be n into consideeration. d times hit haard, and ds avoided hiim like plague. The wwomen suddenly movedm the neext tar. Gettting PointP Point B me diffiwithout mmeans fuel his e e. This s a rude akening, he had err up and up forfo the of saalvaging careerr. Enter erwa FC, the Mottsepe ue siide that beenn kind gh too give ’ a chhance edempption. his intterview, banguu tells er Ladduma’s ine Abbrahams honesst truth ut hoow he in too the pingss of topt football.

Celine Abrahams: Lerato, thank you for taking time out to speak to the Soccer Laduma readers. Following a prolonged period in the football wilderness, things are beginning to look up for you after you were given a lifeline by Baberwa FC in the ABC Motsepe League.

Lerato Chabangu:

Ja, on the job side, things are looking better now, but I had to bury my grandfather who just passed away recently. I am still going through that and it’s not easy because we had a good relationship. Everything… (goes silent) … we shared everything together. (Starts sobbing) Through everything I’ve been going through, he has been there for me, like how my grandmother was there before she also passed away. It’s a big loss for me. He loved football, he supported me when I was at my highest and I want to be the Lerato Chabangu that everyone knew before, for him and for the people that I disappointed.

CA: Condolences to you and your family, Ace. However, let’s give those who don’t know a picture of that Chabangu that you’ve just mentioned.

LC:

You know, the Lerato Chabangu now feels bad. I feel that I have disappointed so many people – my family, the people that believed in me, my former coaches… a lot of people. Everything that I had, I lost it all. I was once there on top and now I have nothing to show for it. There are just memories, pictures, to show the things that I did, but I have nothing. I am thankful, though, that there are people who still have that belief in me and hope that things will work out. I want these young ones to learn from my story because I don’t want to see talented players going down the same road that I went through. I grew up in Tembisa, you see, and I was exposed to a lot of things. It’s the kasi (township) and there is a certain lifestyle that is there, so I was used to living that life. It’s sad to see some of the people there are happy to see when someone from their community is down and out. My football career started on a good note and, after everything, I want it to also finish on a good note. CA: That’s positivity. LC:

Just recently, I was looking at my photos when I was at Tuks (University of Pretoria) and we got promoted from the then Vodacom League – those were good times. Then the big break for me came when I went to join (Mamelodi) Sundowns. I think it was the right move at the right time for me because I was young and Mr (Patrice) Motsepe had just taken over ownership of the club. There were quality and well-known players in the team and there I was, a youngster coming from nowhere to play with these players that had been doing well. I got an opportunity and I grabbed it. I was hungry for success and that’s the type of player that I was. The support that I got there helped me to be that star on the field. It was easy for me to do my job because I had people around me who understood me and the older players were guiding me and advising me on different things. CA: Did you listen to the advice? LC:

One thing you must know is that I was young. I was 20 at that time and I was starting to get attention from everyone. I would go to the mall and people would notice me, so now the spotlight was on me. For me, it was like, okay, God gave me the talent and I have to show it. I had followers and that’s why Sundowns bought me in the first place from Tuks. It was a dream come true for me and I started to feel like I was living on top of the world, you see? I was looking up to the legends and I wanted to be someone in life, so for me to have that attention, sometimes it was good

and sometimes it was bad. As a person, it is how you deal with it. You have to get good guidance, which is why I’m saying the youngsters coming up now have to make sure of who they have in their life. Not everyone who comes into your life is there for a good reason and you must be careful. I was getting good money. Let’s say now you are getting R10 and then you find yourself with R10 000… what would some of us do? We would buy anything because we have the money. I could buy whatever I wanted to buy because I had the money! Whatever I wanted, I could get it and that is where it started to go wrong for me because I wasn’t taking care of my money.

CA: From what you are saying, it looks like guidance was sorely lacking.

LC:

My former agent, Glyn Binkin, was with me from the start of my career, but I felt that I didn’t need to listen because it was my money and I could do what I wanted to do with it. I was working for it. I had that wrong attitude. I did have that guidance, but I just never took it. My family was there for me as well and some of my teammates would tell me to be careful about what I was doing, but I never listened. I was a boy from the kasi and I would go there all the time and be with my friends and have a good time. I didn’t realise what I was doing because I was having fun. I spent my money on everything and now it’s all gone. Glyn told me to invest money, buy a house - which I did - and look after myself. He did his part as my agent and I can’t say he didn’t try. It was up to me and what I wanted to do, and I chose the wrong path and I can’t blame anyone else but myself for all of that. I was living life and it broke me. There is a limit to doing things in life and I had no limit – I just enjoyed that good life with all the partying. If you remember, before I went to (Moroka) Swallows I didn’t play and I didn’t have a team, so I didn’t have an income and I had to cash out on the money that I had put away so that I could survive and put food on the table. It got to a point where I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about what I was going to do next.

CA: Why was finding a team proving to be a mission?

LC: My lifestyle. People talk and when you live a life like the one I did, then it’s hard because coaches and teams don’t like to have players like that. I had to fix myself because I needed to work. It was difficult because I had to pay for a house, a car, buy food and pay school fees for my child. I felt it. I felt it very hard. But I got opportunities again, even after I left Swallows, but it was never the same and I fell into depression I can say. These last few years I didn’t want to put myself under pressure because people say a lot of things and will come to you and ask questions, so I stayed in the house all the time. I didn’t like to go out because I felt ashamed and I had let my people down. I had to regroup and try to get to know myself again because I had lost myself a long time ago.

CA: Wouldn’t it have been better for you to have sought help?

LC:

I didn’t feel like being out there. I wanted to deal with everything in my own way. So, I just stayed there and focused on being positive about everything. We are all different people and we all have different ways of dealing with our problems. I think it did help me a lot to focus on myself and learn from my mistakes. But I am still growing and I am still learning. I still have a long way to go because I am still recovering and still trying to get my fitness levels right so that I can play and help my team win promotion. I’ve started doing social responsibility programs with the schools in Tembisa because I want these kids to learn from me.

CA: When that recent picture of you with a beer bottle in hand surfaced on social media, it broke many people’s hearts.

LC:

That picture was not nice to see, but it opened up a door for me and for my life to be where I am at the moment. I am praying and hoping for the best because I don’t want to be in that situation anymore. I have owned up to my mistakes and I am ready to make a difference in my life and in the lives of other people.

CA: In that case, we want to wish you all the best, Ace.

LC:

Thank you. I just want to say to those that I disappointed that I am very sorry and that I have learned the hard way. ❐