The first time Nkosinathi Nhleko saw a paycheck was when he was in Norway after leaving Jomo Cosmos and it was quite an experience for him at the time.
Soccer Laduma got in touch with the former Kaizer Chiefs striker who played in Norway, USA and Sweden to chat about his experience abroad.
The years
I left South Africa in 2002 to go play for Brann in Norway. It was after we lost 5-0 to Kaizer Chiefs in the Coca Cola Cup final. I struggled because of the weather. It was snowing a lot. It was snowing for 10 months. I ended up moving to America to play for FC Dallas in 2004. I had a good time in America. I was there for two years and then I went back to Norway to play for Viking. We were second in the league while I was at Viking and we played in the Uefa Cup. We went to the group stages and played against Monaco while I was there. That was in 2005/06 and that was my best season ever in Norway. After that, I went to Hammarby in Sweden and I was there for two years. We were number two as well on the log and we went to Uefa qualifications and I came back to South Africa.
How the move happened
The scouts were at Jomo Cosmos training. We were playing some friendly games and we were training. We played some PSL games as well, so then they decided to tell Jomo (Sono) that they want to sign me. From then, I went to Norway to do the medical and everything and I signed the contract. Those days at Cosmos, it was rare that you would find a player going for trials because Bra J used to bring scouts to come to South Africa to have a look at players. When they were happy with you, then you discuss everything here in South Africa before you leave. We always knew that we would have scouts coming, so that's why our training sessions were intense because we wanted to play overseas. We used to enjoy ourselves.
The rands and cents
There was a huge difference when I left Cosmos to go to Brann. At the time, I was not earning so much at Cosmos. Another thing that was boosting me (financially) was the under-23s and sometimes Bafana Bafana. But when I went to Europe, that was my first time getting a pay slip. I asked them 'what's this?' and they said it's a pay slip. I could not understand what a pay slip was. So, they told me that the pay slip shows me how much I was paid and how much was deducted and so on. I told them I do not know what a pay slip was. Can you imagine that I received my first pay slip in a foreign country? To them it was a joke, but for me it was reality.
My first day in Europe
I landed in the wrong months because it was so cold. It was on January 2 and it was snowing. I remember they booked me into a hotel and they told me that we would be training the following day. It was snowing the following day, so I thought there would be no training. The media was waiting for me at the stadium, but I didn't pitch up because I thought that training was cancelled. They were so surprised that I did not come to training and the newspapers wrote that maybe I was afraid to go to training because of the snow. It was so cold. The good thing is that Bra J told me to wear warm clothes.
My debut
I was on the bench and it was snowing. The coach told me to warm. Can you imagine I was freezing and boots are cold as well. My feet were cold. I think I played for 35 minutes, but I couldn't cope. It was cold, but I started getting used to it. After some time, I thought let me go to USA and maybe I would go back to Norway when my mindset was good.
The best player I played with
There are so many. In America, there was a guy called Eddie Johnson. It was a good country. In Norway, there was Anthony Gordon. In my career, I was blessed to play with so many good players, even at Cosmos and Kaizer Chiefs.
Best player I played against
I played against Patrice Evra and (Emmanuel) Adebayo. It was when we played against Monaco in the Uefa Cup. I was playing for Viking at the time.
Most memorable moment
It was when I scored the winning goal in the Uefa Cup against Monaco. It was something else, especially playing against such big stars. It was a great moment for me.
Lowest moment
I can't think of a low moment, other than struggling with the weather. I gained a lot of experience abroad and it was good for building mental strength. Remember they don't speak a lot of English in Norway. I was the only black guy when I arrived at the team (at Brann). Sometimes you don't hear what they are saying. I learnt so much about mental strength because you can't just give up.
