Dumisa Ngobe spent two days in hospital due to the unbearable heat during his early days in Turkey, but he survived some tough times to become a key player at Ankaragücü, having first played for Gençlerbirligi.
Soccer Laduma tracked down the former Bafana Bafana midfielder who shared some interesting stories from the time he was in Turkey.
The years
I went to Turkey in 1999 and I think my last season there was in 2002. I played for Gençlerbirligi and Ankaragücü. The weather there was so hot. It was humid. I remember when I arrived, I was hospitalised for two days because of the heat. They did not think I would survive playing in Turkey. But, I survived. I adjusted and I was okay. During the first half of the season, I did not play at all. The coach at the time said I was not a good player and I was always on the bench. I was signed by the chairman of the club, not the coach. The coach said I was not good, so I did not play even a single game. I was helped by Trott Moloto, who was the Bafana Bafana coach at the time. He included me in the AFCON squad in 2000. I remember people here at home asking Trott why I was selected even though I was not playing in Turkey, but he believed in me. Before I left for AFCON, Gençlerbirligi asked me to sign a power of attorney because they wanted to release me because I was not playing. They sold me to Ankaragücü, who were in the relegation zone. I signed the power of attorney, so that they could do the deal while I was away. I went to AFCON and scored in the first game (against Gabon) and we won it. Things changed from then. Back in Turkey, they were surprised that the person they said was not good enough was scoring at AFCON. So, they fired the coach who said I was not good enough because they had already sold me to Ankaragücü, based on the statement from the coach that I was not good enough. That game (against Gabon) changed things. I played for Ankaragücü and we saved it from relegation and I became a key player there.
How the move happened
My move from Pirates to Gençlerbirligi happened like this. First, Ajax (Cape Town) wanted to sign me. Cape Town Spurs and Seven Stars had come together to form Ajax Cape Town. They wanted me in their set-up and I told them that I'd like to play for them. But I told them I needed to speak to Irvin Khoza first. I went to talk to Irvin and I asked him to release me to go play for Ajax. I felt that I no longer had competition at Pirates. I was in the starting line-up in all the matches. I was gaining weight because I was comfortable, so I asked the chairman to release me and to have a change of scenery. He asked for some time to think about it, but I think the chairman felt that it would be better for me to go overseas rather than stay here. I think he used his contacts for me to go there. I went on trial there and I signed a contract, without the coach knowing.
My first day in Turkey
Turkey is a Muslim country and they were not used to seeing black people. They wanted to touch my skin because they were not used to seeing a black person. But I understood because they did not come to me with disrespect. After a while, I got used to the environment there.
My debut
I don't remember who it was against. Because at Gençlerbirligi, I did not play a single game. I was always on the bench. I only started playing when I joined Ankaragücü. They loved me there. I was in the same team as Helman (Mkhalele) and he made things easier for me.
The best player I played with in Turkey
Helman Mkhalele was one of the best players I played with. There was (Ohene) Kennedy from Ghana was well at Ankaragücü.
The best player I played against in Turkey
(Gheorghe) Hagi was a top player from Romania. He was playing for Galatasaray. There was also Shoes (Moshoeu) who was playing for Fenerbahçe. May his soul rest in peace. There was also (Claudio) Taffarel, the goalkeeper from Brazil. He was playing for Galatasaray.
Most memorable moment
My best moment was during my second season at Ankaragücü, where I was dominating in the middle. They did not want me to come play for the national team because I had become a key player for them. It showed how important I was for the team.
Lowest moment
When the national under-23 team qualified for the Olympics in Sydney (Australia), I was part of the team as one of the older players. I had to turn it down because the team, Ankaragücü, put the contract in front of me and said I should choose to either go to Sydney, or they terminate my contract. They did not want me to go play. After I turned down the under-23s, I got injured. I was out until the end of the season. I was out for some time.
