In Touch With...

TSHEPO BULU – UNATTACHED (PART 5)

Zoro, this is the last part of our In Touch’ feature, so we expect fireworks, ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, no problem, my brother. I still have more crazy stories for you guys. We went to play Platinum Stars, while I was still at Kaizer Chiefs, in Rustenburg, and camped in Magaliesburg. The team bus left us behind on match-day simply because we were a few minutes late and you know how punctual coach Muhsin Ertugral can be, ha, ha, ha. I don’t think there’s any team he’s coached where he had never left players behind because they were running late. I was sharing a room with Michael Nkambule. So we took a walk together, hoping to meet the rest of the team in the reception area, only to get there and be told that the team had just gone out to the bus. When we got outside, we could see the bus revving on the driveway and we rushed to it. We could see the guys pointing to us, to tell the coach that we were outside. Guess what He just ignored them and instructed the driver to get going, ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, so what happened with the two of you? Bobby (Motaung) was standing there surprised and asked why we were late. We explained to him what had happened and he could also see that we were not so late that the bus could leave us. He also tried to wave the bus down, without any luck, and we ended up catching a lift with him to the stadium. When we got to the change room, Bobby asked the coach why he left us behind and Muhsin told him we were late and therefore the team wasn’t going to wait for us. The story had a really happy ending, though, because the coach introduced me off the bench. A few minutes later, I received a good pass from Zito Ogbonna and scored our winning goal, ha, ha, ha. I was so happy and, after the game, Bobby told the coach, “Err, “The way he fell off that treadmill was so funny.” coachcoach, next time please don’t leave players behind. You see, you left behind someone who was to score our winning goal today laughing, but the coach was still not happy that we were late, ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, we recently spoke to Thuso Phala and he had a similar experience with Muhsin for not keeping time. Ha, ha, ha, Muhsin doesn’t mess around with time. Let me tell you about Knowledge Musona after he had just joined the club for his first stint. He was new to South Africa, Jozi and Chiefs so everything was quite a new experience to him. We went to the High Performance Centre (HPC) in Tshwane for our medical tests before our pre-season camp. He wasn’t used to a treadmill and the use of heart-rate monitors, which were some of the things to be used for our tests. Everyone was standing in front of a running treadmill, which means you needed a skill to hop into one, otherwise you’d simply fall. He jumped straight into it and the way he fell off that treadmill was so funny and we all burst into a huge laughter, ha, ha, ha. The guy really struggled to get used to the equipment and that reduced him to a laughing stock in the camp, with everyone having something to say about it. We used to tell him he was only used to running in the streets back home, ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha. Let me tell you about Skhokho (Cyril Nzama) when he was no longer enjoying regular game-time and was about to leave Chiefs. After one training session – he always enjoyed spending time with us youngsters, the likes to Mandla Masango, myself, Phala, Sandile Zuke, Nkambule and others, guiding us – we were busy doing extra training with him. He told us, “Boys, watch what I’m about to do in that change room. I’m going to pretend as if I’m using muti. He then went to get some dry leaves, from a tree next to the change room, and crushed them. He went into the change room, took his toiletry bag and went to one of the showers and dropped those leaves, shouting, “I’m tired of not playing anymore! From now on, I will be playing regularly and whoever is bewitching me is in trouble, ha, ha, ha. Everyone started running out of the showers in complete shock. We stood there laughing our lungs out because we knew what was going on. Funnily enough, no one wanted to use that shower again. Cyril was like,like “You see people who use muti are very scared of it. Ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, unbelievable stuff! Gerald Sibeko was always observant and if he saw you wearing something today, you couldn’t come back with the same outfit the next day and think you’ll get away with it. One of our teammates made that mistake, with an underwear nogal, ha, ha, ha. Tso (Sibeko) was on the guy’s case about it and everyone laughed at the guy because he thought no one would notice. That’s just how observant Tso was. He and Kaizer Junior called each other “Zev . Right. Let me tell you another story about Bobsteak – what a character! Nice guy and a smart dresser of note, who ( a was at be always from y you’re There T always wants to smell nice. Shabba Siphiwe Tshabalala) and I always gave him round of applause whenever we felt like he looking really good. He could be boastful times and be like, “No, boys, you must used to me by now. This is nothing, I’m dressed smart and you must learn me. Be presentable so that people know Kaizer Chiefs players, ha, ha, ha. was a time Mandla and I were waiting in the parking lot for Walter (Mokoena) and Cyril, respectively, to fetch us. Bobsteak comes to us and goes like, “Hey, Mandla, tell me, boy, what’s your dream car Mandla, without hesitation, says, “Mini Cooper and it was still new in the market. Bobby was like, “No, Mandla, maan, you must dream big. You’re playing for Chiefs now hey. Ha, ha, ha, we laughed so hard. That’s Bobby for you, always pushing people to be the best they can be. Mabhudi Khenyeza was driving a VW Citi Golf and had just pulled into the parking lot and Bobby told him, “Mabhudi, this is not Golden Arrows, hey; you’re playing for Chiefs now. Look around you. Can you see the cars parked here by your teammates You come here with this car I don’t want to see this car here next week. We are paying you very well. Ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, eish, time (and space) is an enemy. Let’s leave it there, brother. Thanks so much for your time. You’re welcome, man. Before you go, please don’t forget to tell your readers that Sandile Zuke’s other nickname is “Mbiza and I will leave its interpretation to their imagination. He threatened to get me for spilling the beans on him last week, ha, ha, ha. Also, Mfiki Mthimkhulu and I, coached by Wedson Nyirenda, made history in Mozambique by winning the league with Ferroviario de Beira for the first time since they were formed in

1924.