‘Tyson’ is now beginning to pack a punch
BIDVEST Wits defender and captain Thulani Hlatshwayo may have a boxer’s build and a resemblance to legendary heavyweight champion Mike Tyson when he decides to go bald.
However, “Tyson” is not a boxing supporter and it was only through a late friend of his that he acquired the nickname.
“There’s this guy I grew up with, the late Skhumba, who gave me the name and it wasn’t because I punched someone. He said I looked quite similar to Mike Tyson when I cut my hair but that’s where the similarities ended.
“I just know Mike Tyson because he’s Mike Tyson. I have no interest in boxing whatsoever,” a tired-looking Hlatshwayo said after a tough training session in unseasonably searing late winter heat.
Fatigue is something that was expected from the 26-year-old from Soweto after he fulfilled his national team duties against Mauritania and Egypt, while also captaining the team in the process.
However, he refused to delve into Bafana Bafana’s saddening 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign where they finished third in Group M behind continental powerhouses Cameroon and northwest African minnows Mauritania.
Bafana head coach Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba’s unusual but now accepted penchant of captaincy rotation has seemingly devalued the position. The jovial Hlatshwayo, however, saw past that.
The likes of Steve Komphela, Neil Tovey, Lucas Radebe and Aaron Mokoena gave the armband a glowing roll of honour despite the national team’s wildly fluctuating fortunes since 1992.
“It’s been an honour captaining the national team and sometime during the week, I was tagged on Twitter by someone who had my photograph of when I was still an under-20 player back in 2008 and when I was lifting the trophy.
“He reminded me of the time when I captained the under-20 side at the Under-20 Cosafa Cup which we won. Captaining my country is an honour that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life,” Hlatshwayo said.
Having finished in the top three in the past two Premier Soccer League seasons, discounting Wits as title contenders is highly erroneous.
While they are notorious for their fast starts and end-of-season collapses, not every team beats Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs at home in the space of four days. It was a message of intent that cannot be ignored.
Hlatshwayo was in the heat of the action, scoring the decisive goals in the 2-1 league and cup victories and knows the pain of not being able to get over the line.
He was part of the exciting 2010/11 Ajax Cape Town side — coached by Dutchman Foppe de Haan — that stumbled at the last hurdle. They drew 2-all against Maritzburg United at the Cape Town Stadium when a win would have been enough to pip Pirates to the post.
With better strength and depth than last season, Hlatshwayo said how they paced themselves and dealt with the mundane games will decide their league fate.
“Winning the league is not going to be easy and we have to take each game as it comes and I think this season we pretty much have a new team,” Hlatshwayo said.
“We need to know the league is still fresh and it’s not a sprint but a marathon.
“There are difficult corners to come and we can’t live on these early wins.”