Sono battled former pupil
Jomo Sono is well known for his keen eye for raw talent and he has revealed he is proud that more and more of his former players are graduating into coaching. Sono got the better of one of his protégés on Sunday afternoon when his Jomo Cosmos side beat Maccabi FC, coached by Mokete Tsotetsi (above) who cut his teeth in professional football at Ezenkosi.
“It was nice,” said Sono about coming up against Tsotetsi. “I felt really proud. There is Pitso and now there is Mokete and Dobson (Brian Sebapole) at Tuks (University of Pretoria. This means Cosmos are no longer just producing players but also coaches. Benni McCarthy also went through my hands,” added Sono.
He said what makes his players become successful even beyond their playing days is what he teaches them from an early age. “I am proud. This shows I am not only a coach but a teacher. I teach people. The most important thing I taught them is to be humble. If you think you know everything you won’t go anywhere in life. I have been in the game for 30 to 40 years but I still learn every day. I still get tapes from overseas, watch them and learn new things.
“I don’t like players who think they are bigger than other people. I want my players to greet everyone and speak to people. If a player shows signs he is bigger than others, I send him away. I can’t have them in my team. They must even respect the ball-boys,” he said.
Sono said the win was timely but it was bittersweet as it came against his former pupil. “It was long overdue. I didn’t think it would come now. The game was so bad for the fans that if they had paid I would ask they be given back their money. It was so bad. It didn’t look like anyone would score.
“The wind made it worse. But like I have said, we will compete. We have three players coming in soon. We have also re-signed (Charlton) Mashumba who will start playing soon.
“These are unknown players. It is just my son (Matsilele Sono Junior) and (Silas) Maziya who were here last season. Nobody knew about these players before they joined. But we will compete,” he said.
Tsotetsi said he had forgotten about his relationship with Sono during the match and wanted a win but it was not to be. “We created chances but we didn’t bury them, and that’s how it works in football,” said Tsotesti.