A former Kaizer Chiefs defender has opened up about the most embarrassing moment of his Amakhosi career, which almost landed him in trouble with the club.
Having been part of Muhsin Ertugral's successful Chiefs side that won almost every trophy in the 2001/02 season, Rodney 'Danger' Thobejane had Mozambican midfielder Jossias Macamo almost cut his Amakhosi stay short with his shenanigans, and speaking to the Siya crew the former centre-back reveals how.
"I remember this one time I was still playing for Kaizer Chiefs and we were about to play a Mandela Cup (African Cup Winners' Cup) match in 2001 when something embarrassing happened to me and some of my teammates at the time. We were camping in Sandton for a game that was going to be played at Ellis Park Stadium that weekend. I, Josias Macamo and Nhlanhla Mathebula were not registered for the competition but we were included in the group of players that were going to go to the stadium with the team as it was an important match – a cup final. So, we were given VIP tickets which were meant for us to gain access to the VIP section at the stadium. While in camp, Macamo suggested that we call our friends to give the tickets to them. According to him, as Chiefs players we didn't need any tickets for access anywhere inside the stadium. We believed him and gave the tickets away. But I did have my suspicions at first as I asked him what we would say if Bobby asked about the tickets. Bobby was the one who had given us the tickets. Macamo was convinced that we were never going to be asked about the tickets at the stadium as we were dressed in Chiefs suits when we went there," said Thobejane.
"Now, imagine the shock we had on arrival at the stadium when we were asked about the tickets. Entering the stadium was not a problem as we entered in a team bus with the rest of the players, but the problem started when we had to go to the VIP section where we were supposed to seat and watch the match, as we didn't go to the dressing room with the players who were in the match day squad. We watched in disbelief as the other players showed their tickets to the security personnel and went past to go seated in the VIP section. Macamo kept pleading with the security guy to look at us in the face and tell if he didn't recognise us as Chiefs players. The security guy would have none of it but kept saying, 'Okay, you play for Kaizer Chiefs, but tickets please!' You know how strict security people can be. It was so embarrassing. The security guy made it clear to us that we were not entering the VIP area without the tickets whether we were Chiefs players or not. I was so disappointed in myself that I listened to Macamo for something that was so obvious that it was going to land us into trouble. Macamo ended up calling Bobby to ask him for extra tickets. To cut the long story short, when Bobby finally agreed to come to us to negotiate that we be allowed to gain access after a few unsuccessful attempts of trying to convince him, he told us straight that we were going to be fined when we went back to the club. In that week in training, it was so tense for the three of us and we were worried about the fines. I made it clear to Macamo that he was going to pay me my money if we were fined. Luckily, in the end of it all, Macamo managed to plead with Bobby in his office not to fine us and we got away with it," Thobejane recalls.
