Tyren Arendse has explained how supporters told him that they did not want to see him on the pitch for Orlando Pirates, but he ended up being a hero when he scored as a substitute for the Buccaneers.
Soccer Laduma caught up with the now retired Arendse to talk about the two years he spent with the Soweto giants.
The years at Pirates
I was at Pirates in 2004/05 and 2005/06. Before joining Pirates, I spent four or five seasons at Santos and that's where I got a taste of what professional football is about. But when I joined Pirates, the two years I spent there made me realise that I really got a taste of what being a professional footballer is about. That's purely on the magnitude of the club and the way the club was being run. It was big, not only in South Africa, but on the continent as well because we used to go play in the Champions League. People often speak about football being a religion and that's what it was for the Pirates supporters. They support the team and your life is not yours anymore. Wherever you go, they always just want to talk to you and be close to you. So, you really feel what it is to be a professional footballer when you play for Pirates. That's how I felt when I was there.
How the move happened
It's actually a funny story. In 2004, I was at Santos and it was four or five days before the close of the transfer window. We played against Sundowns in Cape Town on a Wednesday night and Paul Dolezar was the coach at Sundowns. After the game, he came to me and he shook my hand. He left his phone number on a piece of paper in my hand and he said I should give him a call the next day. I gave him a call the next day and he told me that he had already spoken to the president, which was Patrice Motsepe, about signing me. I agreed and I spoke to my agent, which was Mike Makaab. Mike said that if I am keen, we should speak to Santos. What was tricky is that I had to be in the national team camp later that week, on Sunday.
The transfer window was going to close on the Monday. on Sunday night, I went to Goolam Allie, the Santos owner. I went there to basically say 'goodbye' and get his blessing to move to Sundowns. As I stopped in front of Goolam's house, I got a call from Irvin Khoza. Then he said 'I believe you are going to Sundowns'. Then I said 'yes', but I was so surprised and I wondered why Dr Khoza would phone me. Apparently he and Goolam Allie had a gentleman's arrangement, to say if I ever became available, then Dr Khoza would also have an option to sign me. I was a bit confused. I had two big teams in South Africa that wanted my services and I didn't know what to do. I phoned my agent and told him I did not know what to do. Afterwards, we decided that maybe going to Pirates was the best option at that time. I went to the Bafana Bafana camp and we were training at the old FNB Stadium. While I was in the national team camp, I went to the Pirates offices in Parktown, where I met Dr Khoza for the first time. It was quite a scary moment for me because he is a big personality in South African football. It was quite intimidating when I walked into his office, but the moment he started talking, he made me feel calm and I was okay. I signed the contract and I went back to join the national team in the hotel. When I checked my phone, I saw that Sundowns were looking for me, but I had already signed for Pirates. It's a bit of a crazy story.
Who was in the team
The quality of the team was good. Pirates are called 'Happy People' and it came from the team we had. That's where it started because people were always happy because of the type of football we played, the brand of football under Papic. Francis Chansa was in goals. We had Lucky Lekgwathi, Papi Khomane, Edward Malinga, Lucas Twala. Our midfield and attacking players were the most exciting. We had Eddie Dinha, (Onyekachi) Okonkwo and the two Zambians (Isaac) Chansa and (Perry) Mutapa. And we had a lot of the academy boys in Gift Leremi, Cheeseboy Mokoena and Benedict Vilakazi, Joseph Makhanya and Phumudzo Manenzhe. Those are most of the guys I can remember now. It was a top team. We were the most exciting team to watch, even though we didn't win anything.
My debut
My debut was on a Wednesday. We played against Manning Rangers at Chatsworth Stadium in Durban. When they signed me, I was playing as a winger. So, that was my first and last game as a winger at Pirates. At the time, Steve Lekoelea and Joseph Makhanya were there, so I was basically competing against the two of them on the wing. I started the game on the wing and I thought Kosta Papic took me off in the middle of the second half. I spoke to Papic and he told me that he would play me as a striker in the next game because I think he was a little bit under pressure to play Steve Lekoelea, because he was a fan-favourite at the time. On the Sunday we played Black Leopards away from home and I played as a striker. I scored two goals and that's where I played for the next two years for Pirates.
Best player I played with at Pirates
Without a doubt, Gift Leremi. It's really difficult to find a player with his ability. He was comfortable on both his left and right foot. At times you wouldn't know what he was going to do and that's what made him so dangerous. He had the ability to do everything.
Most memorable moment
It's always nice to score goals and I think that's up there. It was special whenever I scored goals. There is no particular. I think if we had won a trophy, then that would be my most memorable moment. Scoring goals was quite memorable.
Lowest moment
My lowest moment is quite funny. I think it was a Wednesday night, but I can't remember who we played, but Wayne Sandilands was in the opposition. It might have been Silver Stars. I was on the bench and we were warming up behind the goals. Then I was called and the score was 0-0. So, I was running towards the bench, I had to pass the main stands. As I was running towards the bench, the Pirates supporters were saying 'no, we don't want him. It's the wrong sub'. I was looking at them and I was thinking 'are these my supporters?' I was so angry and disappointed. I was fuming when I went onto the pitch. I had so much anger and I thought I would do something I would regret. Five minutes in, I scored. There were so many things going through my mind. I thought of running to the supporters and giving them the middle finger, but luckily, I didn't do it. As I walked off the pitch, I was the best player again. The supporters were shouting 'well done Arendse'. I was thinking '10 minutes ago you didn't want me on the field, but now I am the best player'. It's quite funny how South African supporters are. If you don't understand that part of South African football, then you will always struggle, especially when you go to the big teams.
Difficult conversation with chairman or coach
It's the day I went to the chairman to tell him that I want to leave and go to Sundowns. Remember before going to Pirates, Sundowns wanted me. After two years, they came back and I thought I can't say 'no' after someone comes back after two years and they are interested in me. I could not say 'no' for the second time and I explained that to Dr Khoza. I had also just come back from a car accident and I wasn't playing (at Pirates). I thought maybe a different environment would be good.
