Moeneeb chuffed with swapping Jozi for Durbs

VETERAN GOALKEEPER DELIGHTED HIS WIFE OPTED FOR DURBAN INSTEAD OF JOZI

I love Durban, it is relaxed, different to what I have been used to with the hustle and bustle of Wits.

Spring is in the air at Bidvest Stadium, and Moeneeb Josephs comes bouncing off the field, a broad grin on his face, and in a typically chatty mood despite the fact that his new side AmaZulu have just taken a 3-0 beating from his former club Wits.

After all, at 38, Josephs has experienced enough highs and lows on the field of play to take a defeat without losing his joie de vivre.

“It is good to come back home,” said the AmaZulu goalkeeper, who spent five seasons at the Clever Boys, winning another league title among other trophies, and is clearly still a popular figure, with many fans hanging around long after the final whistle to have a chat.

“I didn’t want to come back to get such a hiding, but that is football, Wits are playing well at home and you have to give them respect.”

Josephs had plenty to ponder at the end of last season, which did not go well at all for Wits, but he still admits his preference would have been to stay at the Clever Boys. In the end, as a family man, it was his wife that persuaded him to move to Durban.

“It was not my first choice to move to Durban, I was going to sign here,” he explained.

“They (Wits) offered me a contract, they sent a contract to my agent and then from nowhere AmaZulu came in. I thought to myself ‘you know what, my wife has sacrificed a lot for me, I gave her the opportunity to stay here or go to Durban, and there was also another offer ... she opted for Durban.”

Still, Josephs is enjoying life on the South Coast and the new challenge offered by Usuthu.

“I love Durban, it is relaxed, different to what I have been used to with the hustle and bustle of Wits,” adds Josephs.

“There is not the same pressure to win, but hopefully we can change that (at AmaZulu) and turn us into a team that believes it can win anything.”

Even at Wits, with all due respect, the pressure cannot have been close to what it was like in the time Josephs spent at Orlando Pirates, where he played from 2008 to 2013, the highlight being consecutive treble-winning seasons under Ruud Krol.

With this in mind, Josephs has sympathy with Thamsanqa Gabuza, who he played with at Pirates, and who made headlines this week after storming off the pitch, seemingly angered by abuse from supporters, in the Buccaneers’ game against Black Leopards.

“What he did was wrong, but to be taking the stick that that boy is week in and week out, when he is putting his balls on the line for the team … the sh** he is getting … yes you should be keeping your emotions intact, but as human beings, you have a breaking point.”

Josephs loved his overall experience at Pirates, though he did see echoes of Gabuza’s treatment in his early days with Pirates.

“It was unbelievable (my time at Pirates), it started shakily, coming into the team, my situation was a bit like Gabuza (being booed by fans), the fans thought I was coming to take the place of a young Senzo Meyiwa, who was the future of the team.

“They were booing me week in week out, but I took it a bit differently, I accepted the challenge, and if you look today, the supporters at Pirates still like me, I hope!

“It is every day of your life (the pressure at Pirates), you can’t turn your face anywhere. I understand what he (Gabuza) is going through.”

If one was to pick holes in Josephs’ career, one could point to his time with Bafana Bafana as a bit of a let-down. He did play for South Africa at both the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations and 2010 World Cup, but even that was as a back-up, replacing an injured Rowen Fernandez in Ghana, and a suspended Itumeleng Khune at the World Cup.

He retired from international football in 2012, with Itumleng Khune the dominant figure in the Bafana goal despite Josephs’ success at the time with Pirates.

“I do not look back with regret at all,” said Josephs, however.

“I got to play in the World Cup, for my national team, in the first World Cup in Africa. I was the only goalkeeper to play for a winning South African team in the World Cup at home (they beat France 2-1 in their final group match). There are a few negatives here and there but the positives overshadow that by miles. I had 27 caps and I played in the World Cup, played in the Afcon, I am grateful for the opportunity.”

At 38, meanwhile, Josephs says he is just thankful to still be able to be playing top-flight football.

“38, can you believe it? Everything is with the grace of God. I didn’t come with a good reputation from my younger days, but God has given me the opportunity to keep feeding my family and doing well. For me to be playing at this age I am just grateful, not many get the opportunity.”