That’s what happened with m e

“Me coming back, it does not mean there was something wrong or I failed, you know.”

S ix years after he left the club t o forg e a career abroad,Bong aniZung u is back at Mam elodiSundow ns. The club report edly foug ht off stiff com petition to secure his signature asecond tim e around,but has all their effort proven t o be w ort h it so far? By t he player’s ow n adm ission,he is close to being in the ideal physical conditioninwhichhewillget his m ojo back and silence thenaysayerswhobelieve the star-studded Dow ns didn’t need his services. Recent ly nam ed one of the am bassadors of the Carling Black Label score predict or, hewasavailedtothem ediaand Soccer Ladum a’s Delm ain F aver could not pass up t he opport unit y. In this chat,therefore,the Duduza-born m idfielder opens uponwhyhecuthisEuropean sojourn short,the W orld Cup star he’s texted, and how he m anag es his relat ionship w it h his hardto-please m entor Rhulani Mokw ena.

Delmain Faver: It was in August this year when Mamelodi Sundowns announced your arrival in spectacular fashion in front of a sold-out Loftus Versfeld Stadium just before a game against Kaizer Chiefs, which the side went on to win 4-0. Give us a rundown of the progress so far…

Bongani Zungu: Yeah , obviously w h en I signed w ith Sundow ns, it h appened quickly and ph ysically, I w asn’t ready yet. I joined w h en th ere w ere a couple of games played already. First of all, I’m h appy to be back h ome w ith my family, you know , and also to play for Sundow ns again. I’ve h ave been w orking very, very h ard on my fitness. Th ey’ve been h elping me a lot at Sundow ns and I feel very h appy. I don’t feel pressure. I’m at peace and I’m doing quite w ell in training and obviously in time, my best w ill come, w h ich is not a question. It’s going to come and I’m looking forw ard to playing and h elping th e team more, especially in th e Ch ampions League.

DF: Because you were inactive during pre-season, you had to spend a lot of time catching up in terms of fitness. How far would you say you are physically?

BZ: I’m nearly th ere, nearly th ere and, as I said, you know , I’ve been training w h en th e team is off. I’m training w ith th e trainers th ere at Ch loorkop and it’s gonna be an exciting comeback for me, personally. I don’t feel pressure.

DF: Not too long ago, when asked about your progress by the media, head coach Rhulani Mokwena revealed that he was not happy. What did you make of his comments?

BZ: Obviously, you know , h e played a massive role to bring me to Sundow ns because I h ad oth er options. Obviously, coach Rh ulani, I alw ays tell h im th at, “You’re alw ays not h appy.” It’s like h e w ants more and more. Obviously, h e told me first before h e told th e media th at h e is not h appy – I knew and I know it. He demands more and more from me, and for me, it’s just, as I mentioned, to w ork h ard and w h en I do get an opportunity, to just play and do w ell.

DF: You featured in the Carling Black Label Cup last month, where you had a decent showing in the semi-finals against AmaZulu FC. Seems you are taking those little strides towards where you ideally want to be in terms of your physical shape.

BZ: For th e fact th at w e played in th e morning, th at w as h ard, but I just told myself, “Let me enjoy myself and (h elp) th e team.” I felt w e played w ell. We dominated th e game and w e w on. So, just to speak on th e tournament, as Sundow ns, I feel like w e sh ow ed depth in our team and for me, seeing (Sph elele) Mkh ulise doing w ell… w h en I left h ere, h e w as so young and seeing h ow h e h as grow n

as a player is unbelievable. We’ve got depth and I alw ays tell th em th ere in th e dressing room th at w e can go as far as w inning th e Ch ampions League if w e focus and w ork h ard togeth er.

DF: When you made your return from abroad, a lot of people questioned whether you and Andile Jali can play in the same team.

BZ: I don’t understand because w e played togeth er even at Bafana Bafana during Sh akes Mash aba’s time. But obviously,

because I spoke of depth at Sundow ns, it’s not just Andile I’m competing w ith for a position, but I mentioned Mkh ulise. Th ere’s Siph o Mbule, th ere’s Teboh o Mokoena w h o is doing really good for th e team. So, it’s not just about me and AJ, you know . It’s just about th e team at th e end of th e day. We w anna w in, w e w anna leave our mark now . I w anna leave a legacy of Hlomph o Kekana’s (jersey) number 8. It’s not about me and AJ, it’s about th e team.

DF: What went wrong for you in Europe, Bongz?

BZ: Noth ing w ent w rong. I’ve made a decision w ith my family to come back to South Africa. I decided to come back. I h ad personal reasons w h y I h ad to come back and I don’t h ave regrets about my career. You know , it’s just like anyth ing in life. You go th rough ups and dow ns and th at’s w h at h appened w ith me. And I’m not th e last person th at’s going to face it. Oth er people do face similar situations, but me coming back, it does not mean th ere w as someth ing w rong or I failed, you know . People can say w h atever, but I’m h appy (because) I come from noth ing. I w orked h ard and I w orked to play in Europe, and I came back because of personal reasons, and th at’s all. Th ere’s noth ing about failing. I’m h appy, my family is proud of me and I’m proud of myself and now I’m at Sundow ns. Th ere’s no use looking back. I h ave to h elp th e team reach even greater h eigh ts.

DF: On a number of occasions, you’ve stated that you came back because of personal reasons. That said, were there any football reasons behind your return?

BZ: It’s got noth ing to do w ith football, it’s just personal. You know , it’s life, family… and I just made a decision. Th ere’s no football reasons, it’s just personal. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you because it’s really personal. 100%, it’s personal.

DF: In 2016, you went to Portugal to link up with Vitoria Guimaraes and thereafter France (Amiens SC) and Scotland (Glasgow Rangers) on loan. Now that you are back, how, in your view, has the local game changed? BZ: Th e game h as ch anged, you know . Seeing h ow players h ave developed, you see Teboh o Mokoena at Sundow ns and h is ph ysique. Players run, th e game is much more faster, you know . Th ere’s a lot of talent. So, yeah , it h as ch anged. Teams play now , you know – th ere’s not too much parking of th e bus. A lot of teams play and a lot of teams are doing very w ell. Look at SuperSport United, th ey’ve got some quality players and th ey run, th ey figh t, you know . So, yeah , it h as ch anged for th e better.

DF: Your last Bafana Bafana performance came in 2020 and since then you’ve been largely overlooked. Is there a part of you that wishes you could have been in Qatar with the national team? BZ: No, obviously w h en you compete, you play th e qualifiers, you h ope to go and represent th e national team in th e World Cup. You h ope to play (in) th e World Cup. Unfortunately, it didn’t h appen, w h ich is sad.

DF: So, do you have any friends or former teammates from your time in Europe that are or were at the current World Cup? Have you spoken to any of them? BZ: Yeah , yeah , th ere’s one. He plays for Amiens and is named Formose Mendy, centre-back. He is a young player. I sent h im a message, you know . He got selected to go represent Senegal. I w as very proud to see h im th ere and I h ope h e’s gonna get a ch ance to play and h opefully h is country can do w ell.

DF: Lastly, we see a number of former players that have been entrusted with the responsibility of coaching big clubs and countries. Do you view this as a positive thing?

BZ: Yeah , yeah , I th ink th at’s good, you know . Just like talent in Africa, w e h ave it, and w e h ave coach es now th at are doing w ell. We h ave Arth ur Zw ane at Ch iefs, w h ich is great. Th ere’s Rh ulani at Sundow ns, w h ich is great. And oth ers. So, it’s great for us because th ose coach es understand th e players better. For example, like, I’m talking of personal stuff, personal th ings th at people go th rough every day in life, you know . For a player like me, if I go th rough someth ing, I can be able to talk to someone th at understands me or understands th e culture. So, it’s good for African football, in my opinion.