Nomvethe: They didn’t value me

“I used to run past them barefoot!”

To think that most people born in 1997, the year Siyabonga Nomvethe made his debut in the paid ranks, would have since then commenced with their schooling life at pre-school level, then ventured into primary school, on to secondary school, before starting life at a tertiary institution, and then joining the ranks of the employed and employable, is a remarkable and revealing fact of life. It is testament to the hard-running forward’s dedication to his craft, his enduring strength and unmatched drive. To boast about his achievements since that historic day at African Wanderers would be a pointless exercise, for these are well-documented and the man known to all and sundry as ‘Bhele’ has gained the respect of all for his goalscoring exploits. It’s the stuff obituaries are made of, but why not celebrate them while they are still alive? Soccer Laduma’s Beaver Nazo had this tête-à-tête with the legendary KwaMashu-born striker.

Hey, mfethu, mina ngiqale ukudlala ibhola ngina (my brother, I started playing football at the age of) 12. At the time, I was just playing for fun as part of growing up, but as I grew up, I started playing serious football, especially after joining a local club (Sabatha FC). That’s when I could see that it is a serious thing when they played me at U14, U15 and U16.

BN: Sure. SN:

Ngiqale ukufunda ( I started going to school) at Phakamani Lower Primary School. From there, I went to Thandukwazi Higher Primary School, before going to Mzuvele Secondary School – all here in KwaMashu. I used to play a lot at school. Everybody in KwaMashu knew me because use I was very good and all the team ms that we came up against t were scared of me. Uthol ’ ukuthi ngimarkwa yi (You’d find that I was marked by) three or four defenders in a game. Bathi nangu lomuntu u ogijima ngamandla (They’d d say here’s the speedy one e). Mind you, isikhathi esinin ngi bengilikhahlela ngezinya wo (a lot of the time I played b barefoot). I only started using soccers boots at high school in Mzu uvele. I used to run past them bare foot! They would end up trying ng to kick me. By the time I got to high school, I was wanted by other schools, like Nqaba ka Zulu Secondary School, Sibonelo High School and the other one in Ntuzuma called Thandisizwe High School, asking me to go study there, but I chose to stay at Mzuvele. They were promising me a lot of things, but I decided to stay on at Mzuvele because Nqaba ka Zulu and Mzuvele are in the same vicinity, so I did not want to cause conflicts between the two schools.

BN: Before long, African Wanderers came calling.

SN:

They spotted me while playing for my school, Mzuvele. I remember we were playing a semifinal of one the schools’ tournaments when African Wanderers spotted me. I did well in that tournament. I was scouted by a guy called Rhoo… I only know him as Rhoo; I don’t know his real name and surname. At the time, Wanderers were coached by Malombo Sibiya. When I got there for my first training session, Malombo said, “Hey, ndoda ( man), Rhoo told me that he saw a miracle. Let’s see this miracle. Go train.” I trained, and the rest is history. I was doing Standard 8 as we used to call it at the time. I joined them the season they were relegated. I played in the National First Division the following season and then we gained promotion back to the PSL.

BN: Signing your first pro contract must have been a moment to savour.

SN:

Ngangijabule kabi ngoba vele ngangisazi ukuthi umuntu usesebenza manje while ngisafunda futhi, nangona ungangihleka manje (I was so ecstatic especially at the realization that I was now working while still a student, even though you’d laugh at me now) if I tell you how much we earned back then. It was R2 500 and yayiningi kabi leyo mali ngalesasikhathi (that was a lot of money back then).

However, ngangingena (I did not have an) agent until James Dlamini came to me and told me that he was going to help me. James and I used to play together at Durban Cosmos. He told me to get someone who would look after me while I was still playing in the PSL because it was clear that Wanderers were going to be relegated. We got relegated, as he had predicted, but I contacted Mike Makaab to help me manage my affairs. But I must say I played for a very good team at Wanderers, with quality players like Mandla Ncikazi, Tholomuzi Blose, Phumlani Mkhize, Sibusiso Zuma and many others.

BN: On to Kaizer Chiefs. SN:

I did well for African Wanderers together with my teammates then, Zuma and Mkhize. When they signed for Orlando Pirates, yayivele isifuna sobathathu kodwa nganqaba mina ngoba ngangicabangela indaba yokuthi ( they wanted to sign all three of us, but I refused because I was thinking of the fact that) maybe one of us was not going to play. But I sat down with Makaab, my father and James and discussed my future. That is where we decided that for my career to go up, I had to move. At the time, AmaZulu, Pirates, Jomo Cosmos, Black Aces, Vaal Professionals and Chiefs all wanted me. I wanted to stay at home, but I had to leave after that discussion. There were many teams that wanted me, but ukukhuluma iqiniso, bengisaba ukuya eGoli (to tell the truth, I was scared of going to Gauteng). I was still young and I was also thinking about school. Another thing was some of the clubs who wanted me would give me

R10 000 and tell me to just buy whatever I wanted. They would say, “Hayi siyakupha nje, yidla isinkwa (No, we are just giving you to buy bread).” Remember, at the time, I was not familiar with money. I would look at my R2 500 salary and the money that these teams were promising, ngidideke (and get confused). It was a difficult choice to make. Makaab advised me, kodwa into eyenza ukuthi ngikhethe ukuya kwi (but what made me choose to go to) Chiefs is that they had signed the late Arthur Bartman, who was my teammate at Wanderers. Now, when I looked at Zuma and Mkhize, they were at Pirates and I said no, let me go to Chiefs because when I looked at the quality strikers they had there (Chiefs), Pollen Ndlanya and Marc Batchelor, I saw that they did not have the pace I had. I told myself that I had a chance there, even though they were top strikers.

BN: How was your first day at Naturena?

SN:

It was great, even though I was nervous. I remember when I landed at OR Tambo Airport, it was Screamer Tshabalala (Chiefs team manager at the time) who fetched me. He took me to the hotel in Carlton Centre, where I stayed for two months with Arthur (Bartman). I was relieved to see Arthur since we’d played together. I went to Johannesburg and joined up with the team. Kwakuyinto enkulu kabi ukunyathela nje enkundleni ye (It was a massive thing just to step on the field at) Kaizer Chiefs. But I came to realise how big Chiefs is when I played my first game for the club. When we entered the field for the warm-up, I looked around and it was all gold and black. Guys like Doctor (Khumalo) helped me and made me feel at home. I don’t want to lie, bengithukile (I was nervous). It’s a pity I don’t remember who we were playing against, but it was a Vodacom Challenge game. That is when I saw that once you get a chance in a team that big, you have to make sure you don’t make mistakes. At the time, our coach was Paul Dolezar, who was always playing me as a substitute. It was when Muhsin Ertugral arrived that things changed for the better for me. That is the coach who changed things for my career. He taught me a lot of things. Ngangingayazi ukuthi ibaluleke kangaka i first pole uma uyi (I never knew that the first pole is so important when you’re) a striker. He told me that whenever a winger got the

ball, I must attack the first pole.

BN: It was evident from your time at Amakhosi that you were destined for even bigger things. Indeed, you secured a deal with Udinese in Italy’s Serie A. How were the first few days there? SN:

Bekunzima impela, angifuni ukuqamba amanga (It was really difficult, I don’t want to lie). The language was a problem and it led to me being homesick. There were challenges, but I knew going there that it was never going to be easy. I was struggling with the language, the food that we were eating was also very different from what we are eating at home. You can imagine being in a foreign country, missing your country, your friends and family. All they had there (that was not a problem for me) was clothes, ha, ha, ha. I started learning the language and things were a bit better when my wife and kids arrived. I was loaned, came back and was loaned again. In the third season is when I was loaned to Djurgardens IF in Sweden, where I enjoyed my football and won the league. Udinese and Djurgardens agreed that I would join on a permanent basis after the winter break in Sweden. That is when I came back to play for Pirates for a season because after we won the league, the league went on a break of six months. Because I didn’t want to sit around, I decided to come to South Africa and Pirates and Makaab agreed to a six-month contract, but there was a clause that said if there was another team in Europe that wanted me, I would go. I finished the season though.

BN: How did you then end up in Denmark?

SN:

Well, all I knew was that I was not going to Italy anymore. I was going to Sweden instead to join Djurgardens on a permanent basis. As I was getting ready to go, Makaab called me telling me that I had to go to Denmark to join Aalborg BK. I then found out that the deal was struck between Djurgardens and Aalborg. They ( Aalborg) had wanted me, but Udinese had refused to sell me to them. I signed the contract before I even went to Denmark. They sent it and I signed it before even going there. When I got there, the coach told me that he would give me time off the following week to get my family and that the team would organize everything for them.

BN: And how was your stay there? SN:

It was tough, but when I got there, they organised a flat that I would stay in for two months before I could go and get my own place. The sad thing was that not one of my teammates wanted to pick me up and drop me off for training. I had to wait for the coach every day. Sometimes the coach would go to his office and do some admin work for an hour before we were on our way. So, he would ask if anyone could please fetch me and no one would. They would all say, “No, I am not going that side.” The club car was a street away from where I was staying, but the guys who drove it would say they were not going that way. I