Come to think of it, playing football in the pro ranks is a dream Charlie Hlalele harboured while still a primary school learner, and so you can imagine the excitement when it finally came to fruition. Growing up in Rhodes, a rural area located in the Eastern Cape Highlands and surrounded by towns of Maclear, Ugie and Elliot, he and his twin brother Freddie were determined to not allow their disadvantaged background to block the path to their goals in life. Bloemfontein Celtic provided the first real platform for the duo, in the junior ranks, where they had the likes of Thapelo Morena and Neo Maema as teammates. From there, it was on to Orlando Pirates. The 28-year-old would then later turn out for AmaZulu FC and Polokwane City. It is a journey that has promised so much, but delivered little, and in spite of it all, he remains refreshingly upbeat. In this interview, Hlalele talks to Soccer Laduma's Masebe Qina about lack of patience, the Bucs disappointment and how he is currently managing to put food on the table without a job.
Masebe Qina: Who is Thabang Hlalele?
Charlie Hlalele: My name is Thabang Charlie Hlalele and I am originally from the Eastern Cape in a small village called Rhodes, which is not far from Barkly East. I think playing football is what God has always wanted me to do in life. I remember how as a kid, and in the company of my twin brother Freddie, I'd go to church with the elders from the family and when the Reverend ordered everyone to close their eyes to pray, we'd sneak out to go and play football outside. We've grown up being told about our elder brother, who was apparently a very good footballer, but we don't know him as we were still very young when he passed away in a robbery incident in Cape Town where he had gone to sign with Ajax Cape Town (now Cape Town Spurs), from what we've been told. His name was Lebohang Hlalele and it was a matter of being in a right place at the wrong time for him as he was hit by a car in an unfortunate incident. Izikoli zase Kapa (Cape Town criminals) tried to rob him and, as he was trying to run from them, he was hit by a car he didn't see due to shock and panic from the incident. Everyone who tells us about him says he was a very good player who could have made it big in professional football.
MQ: We are sorry to hear about your brother and may his soul rest in peace. Most people started hearing about you and your twin while playing for Orlando Pirates' MultiChoice (now DStv) Diski Challenge team. Where did it all start?
CH: Growing up in the Eastern Cape, we've always been playing football askids, like I say, and after we passed Grade 6, our sister got married and she was staying in Bloemfontein and the primary school we were going to back home didn't have a Grade 7. We asked our sister to go and stay with her so that we could further our schooling there. When we made that request to her, my twin brother and I had already discussed it and our aim was nothing else but to go and be closer to where Bloemfontein Celtic was based so that we could go and try our luck with the team. The thing is, we were being motivated by people who were following us and were impressed with how we were playing. They were encouraging us to take football seriously. I don't know why, but we were just so confident that if we were to go to a place like Bloemfontein, we'd be able to end up at a club like Celtic. Luckily, things happened the way we had hoped because from Grade 8 up to matric, we were at Celtic development. The likes of Thapelo Morena and Neo Maema ngamadod' amakhulu ngoku (are big boys now), and they are the players my brother and I were with at Celtic development. We played a lot of games with them.
MQ: We are all ears.
CH: From Celtic, we went to play for Roses United (which had relations with Celtic) in the third tier and won the league with the team. From there and seeing that there wasn't any progress at Celtic (with regards to promotion) even though they were speaking highly of us, we decided to leave. We explained to the club that our dream was to play in the PSL and we were seeing that it wasn't happening at the club. While back in the Eastern Cape, we played in a tournament known as Senqu, which was organised by the municipality, and were scouted by a Free State Stars legend, whose name I can't remember now. He was there with James Mothibi, who is a former professional footballer. After we emerged as some of the best players in the tournament, the legend took us to trials that were held at Randburg in Gauteng for the MDC team of Pirates. But for us, it was to go there and gain as much experience as possible irrespective of what the outcome would be. Sasiyobetha iintaka ezimbini ngelity' elinye (We were going there with the aim of killing two birds with one stone). We wanted to make sure that even if we were not selected for Pirates, somebody would be interested. Unfortunately, we arrived late in Randburg. We were about seven players from the Senqu Local Municipality, and I remember being introduced to Pirates Chairman Dr. Irvin Khoza's sons, Mpumi and Nkosana, who then asked Benson Mhlongo, who was one of the coaches there at the time, to assemble two teams for the coaches to see us so that we didn't go back to the Eastern Cape without being assessed.
MQ: Good gesture from the Buccaneers.
CH: The biggest 'mistake' they made was putting me in the same team as my twin when the players were being divided into two groups. We were given 45 minutes, but my brother and I played for about 15 minutes and we were told that the coaches had seen what they wanted to see and we were pulled out. They said, "Olwenu ugqatso nilufezile (You've run your race)". While on the field and doing our thing, the coaches were calling each other to say, "Madoda yizan' obona, besisithi sigqibile kanti asikaqali (Guys, come see, we thought we were done, but it turns out we haven't started)."
MQ: Is that how you and your brother joined Pirates?
CH: Yes. I remember before the decision was made for us to join Pirates' MDC team, there were rumours that we were even being considered for the first team. That would have been great, but it didn't happen. If I remember well, it was during the 2016/17 season and my brother and I enjoyed playing for the Pirates MDC team. At that time, we were already done with schooling and the focus was on football with the aim of playing in the elite league. Things were promising at Pirates as we were doing very well in the MDC.
MQ: But you then left, back in 2018. Why?
CH: Again, like at Celtic, there wasn't any progress when it comes to us getting closer to promotion despite doing so well with the reserves. I am someone who is courageous, and I don't think twice about taking a risk when I feel I have to. I approached the coaches at Pirates at the time and I told them, "Ndibethwa liphango kwaye ndinqwenela amadlelo aluhlaza (I'm hungry and I'm eager for greener pastures)." I told them that I could see that playing for Pirates' senior team was not meant for me and I asked to be released. The coaches liked me, but they allowed me to leave, along with my brother.
MQ: But it took some time for you to play in the topflight even after you left the Soweto giants.
CH: Yes, because after I left Pirates, I joined Tornado FC in Mdantsane outside of East London, who were playing in the ABC Motsepe League. That's the team I'll never forget because playing there helped me in many ways. I remember the discussion I had with uTat' uMawawa (Siphiwo Nyobo, the late Tornado FC owner) before I joined the club, where he said to me, "Mfana wam, imali andinayo, kodwa into endizakwenzela yona kukunceda ukuba ugqame uzoyokudlala ku (I'm as poor as a church mouse, but what I can do is to help you get the exposure so that you can go and play in the) PSL". May his soul rest in peace. I will never forget the things he did for me to help me in my football career. Yes, I knew that joining the team was taking 10 steps backwards in my career, coming back from Pirates. I told myself that when I started playing, I would make 20 steps forward to forget the 10 steps that were going backwards. We finished the season as the champions in the Eastern Cape Stream and headed for the play-offs, which were in Polokwane that year. I remember in our second game of the play-offs, I came on as a second-half substitute, ndaqond'ba, 'Wagwetywa ndlala' (and in my mind I was like, 'There goes poverty out of the window'). After the game, there were a lot of PSL clubs that were chasing me and it took the intervention of Tat' uMawawa, who decided to take me away from the team hotel to a secret location and he confiscated my phones so that I could concentrate on doing the job for the team without any distractions.
MQ: Interesting. How did you join AmaZulu FC?
CH: From all the offers I had, I had the difficulty of choosing the team I wanted to play for, but I ended up going with AmaZulu. Ulwandle ndiyaluthanda (I love the beach), ha, ha, ha, and the offer they made me was good. Oh, Usuthu olumabheshu ankone, inyokana eluhlazana, umabonwa abulawe! That's my team, my brother, and I will never forget the love and life I got there. I was there from 2018 up to 2021, and following the change of ownership after Mr. (Sandile) Zungu took over as club president, things fell apart for me and my journey with the club ended. I say I love the beach, but I don't swim as per the old Xhosa myth that twins should not swim.
MQ: How was your stint with Polokwane City?
CH: The orange army, madoda (guys)! I joined the club in 2021 and the club had been chasing my signature for some time. But I didn't have a long stay with Rise and Shine because the mandate we were given as senior players was to help the team get promoted to the top division. We failed on the task namadod' amakhulu, oo (together with the big guns, the likes of) Puleng Tlolane (now Marema) and that's when I left the club. Since then, I haven't had a club.
MQ: Life without a club must be hard.
CH: I am from a family of six children, but we are now four who are still alive – me, my twin, the one who comes after us and our other sister. Like I mentioned earlier, we had a brother who passed away, as well as the sister whom we stayed with in Bloemfontein, who has since passed away also. Kuyo yonke lonto, oko ndayibamb' itshisa ne wele lam (All through those hardships, I've held it together with my twin), playing the role of being breadwinners at home with the money from football. I remember at one stage I was getting paid R5 000 per month, but we managed to take our sisters to college. Bendiyindoda ekwaziyo ukubeka imali (I had a way of knowing how to save money) from a very young age, so what I did was that, in 2021 after I joined Polokwane, I decided to invest in a vehicle that would generate income for me. I bought an Avanza. Now I own two of those cars and my family and I live on the money that's being made by those vehicles. As I'm talking to you, I'm having breakfast and it looks delicious because I'm having bread with Russians, eggs and cheese, ha, ha, ha. The whole Hlalele household depends on the two cars I bought through playing football and nobody goes to bed on an empty stomach.
MQ: That's really nice, man. So, how do you keep fit now?
CH: I am a regular at Virgin Active and there are a few other guys who are ex-PSL players that I train with. It's helping me to keep fit as I'm looking for a club. My brother is doing the same, although he is now also focused on completing his assignment for his calling of ubugqirha (being a traditional healer).
MQ: Charlie, let's disturb you no further. Enjoy your breakfast and good luck!
CH: Ha, ha, ha, ndiyabulela, bhut' omkhulu. Ubene langa elimnandi (Thank you, big man. Have a nice day).
CHARLIE HLALELE FACT FILE
Full name: Thabang Charlie Hlalele
Date of birth: 6 November 1994
Place of birth: Rhodes, Eastern Cape
Nickname: The Sensational
Position: Midfielder
Club: Unattached
Previous clubs: Rhodes Rovers, Napoli (amateur), TUT, Bloemfontein Celtic juniors, Roses United, FC Elliot, Orlando Pirates reserves, Tornado FC, AmaZulu FC, Polokwane City
Honours: None
