I’ve never seen so many stretchers! PR: Is there anything else that you’ve found odd about playing in Africa? NH:
Ajax Cape Town goalkeeper Nick Hengelman talks to Soccer Laduma’s Peter Raath about the legendary, Steve ‘Kalamazoo’ Mokone. He also discusses the various differences between the Dutch and South African second tiers, recent results and their supporters.
Peter Raath: Before we talk about Ajax Cape Town, please give us a background to a few interesting aspects of your career in Holland, especially the South African links.
Nick Hengelman:
I’m a youth product of Heracles Almelo. I spent two years there and I think they still have their academy, combined with FC Twente. Heracles is the same club where the late South African, Steve ‘ Kalamazoo’ Mokone, featured in the late 1950s. He was the first African player in Holland and is a much-respected man. People still talk about him, though not on a daily basis. At our stadium, there’s the Mokone Stand and a little museum with some items. I’m sure that the director of the club, who I know, is proud of that as well. My first professional club was AGOVV Apeldoorn, but it went bankrupt at the time. Ajax’s attacking midfielder, Istvan Bakx, who’s a specialist in giving assists, and I played there under our current coach, Andries Ulderink. So, this relationship goes back to 2013. It’s not always the case that there’s money in Europe. I once had a trial in England at Bury FC, who were kicked out of the Football League due to financial problems.
PR: What are the biggest differences between the Dutch Eerste Divisie (second tier) and the GladAfrica Championship?
NH:
Technically, I would say that both divisions are comparable, but not the pitches – they’re quite good in my country. We have a lot of artificial pitches, maybe because clubs are struggling with money, I don’t know. Out of the 18 teams, there are about 12 that don’t use natural grass, although they’re trying to reduce that number. I prefer playing on a bad field of grass. Also, the top five clubs in Holland’s Eerste Divisie expect around 10 000 spectators per game. The atmosphere is magical in a stadium with that sort of capacity, whereas when Ajax plays at Cape Town Stadium, it looks like there’s nobody watching due to its size. Another difference is the weather. In Richards Bay, when we had rainy and stormy conditions – I had never experienced that before. At home, the climate doesn’t change much, but I hated playing in the cold and snow. My recommendation is to come to SA for the nice weather. Against Uthongathi in Durban, it was lovely, warm and humid. Most of our players said it was too hot, but I loved it!
PR: Isn’t that where you had a hand in the opening goal during your 3-1 win over the Cane Cutters, which sent the Urban Warriors top of the log for the first time before two unexpected home losses in a row to Steenberg FC and struggling TS Sporting?
NH:
Yes, Peter. I sent a long ball to Eleazar Rodgers, who flicked it over an opponent and Abednigo Mosiatlhaga made a nice run to score another brace and his 12th goal of the season. He’s a class player. I must also credit Thabo Mosadi for not being selfish by passing the ball so that Mosiatlhaga could score in an empty net. It was a real team effort that opened up the game for us. I find the Ajax players an interesting group, who get along with each other and laugh. When we arrived back in Cape Town, some Ajax fans were at the airport to cheer for us. They were happy with that win. It’s nice that people love and support the club. The team also enjoys the experience of topping the log, but we have nothing. We mustn’t get too enthusiastic at this stage. There’s still lots of work to do. I’d rather be on top of the league at the end of the season. Ajax are taking things game by game, working well during the week at training in order to focus on the next opponent and not what comes after that. Luck wasn’t on our side against Steenberg, while in the Sporting match, the team didn’t play like it can. Now our job is to remain calm and focussed.
In my entire career, I’ve never seen so many stretchers coming onto the field of play! I always tell players, “Don’t lie down long enough for the stretcher, rather get up after three or four seconds, otherwise you have to get off the pitch.” The thing we talk about is goalkeepers going to the ground faking some injuries. I won’t do that or involve myself in time-wasting. I don’t want to waste time lying on the ground. It’s better to play well and use up time by keeping possession. We all like the Dutch way of playing. Obviously, I’m more familiar with it than the South Africans.
PR: Ajax bounced back to beat both Real Kings and Royal Eagles 2-1 in KZN, where your spectacular saves, coupled with Thendo Mukumela’s 93rd minute winner helped the team grab a three-point log lead.
NH:
We never gave up and put in a lot of fighting mentality. Everyone is delighted. Now the focus is on Free State Stars.
PR: Thanks, Nick. NH:
Anytime, Peter. ❐