"Brunoski", you've been around and even got to spend time with the late Orlando Pirates goalkeeper, Senzo Meyiwa. You must have a lot of stories to share with our readers from that period.
Ha, ha, ha, what a crazy character! The one story that comes to mind is when we beat Golden Arrows 2-0 in a league match in Durban. Senzo was starting and I got a rare opportunity of being on the bench and the coach made three substitutions before "Nzori" went down injured. He waved at me to say I should warm up, which was an indication that he was not going to be able to continue with the game. I ran behind his goalposts and asked him what was wrong? He told me he was injured and, with just under 10 minutes to go, it was my time to taste first-team action. I did my warm-up and felt I was ready to come on. Remember, the coach had not said anything about me warming up, it was just an instruction from Senzo. When I was done with my warm-up, while Senzo was now on his feet, the coach asked me, "Why were you warming up? We've done all our substitutions already!" Everyone in the technical area laughed so much at me and I felt so stupid because I should have known better.
Ha, ha, ha, talk about the excitement taking over!
Exactly, bro! After the game, I was so angry and Senzo noticed that I was not impressed at all. He came to me and said, "Hey boy, I was just testing to see if you were watching the game. You must always stay switched on and focus on the game even if you are on the bench. How can you not know we've used up all our substitutions when they were done right in front of you? Stay focused!" Ha, ha, ha, as much as I was happy to learn, I was still mad at him for making a fool of me like that. I told him, "Ja, I hear you, mara (but) you knew the subs were up, so why teach me like that when you could have just told me all of this without making me look so stupid?" He laughed and continued to talk to me about the importance of staying focused.
Good advice and lesson from Nzori!
He really got me that day. We went back to the hotel and I was sharing a room with "Mahoota" (Katlego Mashego) and he could see that I was still not over the embarrassment. He told me, as we were relaxing in our room, "Bruno, did you really think you were going to come on as a substitute?" I told him, "Yes, mf'ethu (brother), I saw an opportunity to play in the senior team and I was so happy and looking forward to it, especially after Senzo told me to warm up. So, I'm really disappointed in the way this whole thing happened." Mahoota was like, "Nah, man, don't take it to heart. I'm sure you learned something today, so take this R100 and go buy something to cheer you up, downstairs." I thanked him and went to buy cold drink and chips. When I came back, he was with Teko (Modise) and Teko was also supportive, telling me not to worry and that my time would come. I must say, my time at Pirates was so good I enjoyed it and made a lot of friends. The senior guys were always there for me and I learned a lot from them, I don't want to lie. My time there was just beautiful!
We're happy to hear that, even without getting much game-time, the lessons you learnt are surely paying off in your career today.
That's so true and when I was going through those lessons, some of them – like the substitution incident – were not nice, but when I look back, I realise their importance and why I had to go through them. Let me tell you another Pirates-related story. Their current DStv Diski Challenge head coach, Joseph Makhanya, used to advise me not to sit around and do nothing when I didn't make the 11-v-11 practice match at training. He would encourage me to take the ball and go behind the goalposts with one of my teammates who are not playing. He told me, whenever I get a chance, I must grab it with both hands and make it difficult for the technical team to overlook me. The other day, I asked him why he was so concerned about us, especially young and new players, and he told me, "Boy, lo baba u "Njenje" (this man, Augusto Palacios) taught us to look after junior players promoted to the senior team and the new players, so it is my job to look after you guys." Then I met "Duku-Duku" two weeks ago when we played their Diski Challenge team in a friendly. He told me, "Can you see how happy I am, so early in the morning? It is because I can see you are finally enjoying regular game-time and those behind-the-goalposts sessions are finally paying off." He then reminded me of the times when coach Palacios would tell me, "Come on, Bruno, he must fight for the place! You see Senzo doing well, you are next." Unfortunately things didn't work out like that as almost everyone expected me to take over from Senzo, but through God, Brighton (Mhlongo) was there and I was so happy for him. We are from the same development and he knew everything I knew and vice versa.
True.
We met guys like Andile (Jali), Oupa (Manyisa) and others who guided us throughout our stay. They were crazy characters who would send you a message through a joke. For instance, last season I was sharing a room with Oupa here at Platinum City Rovers. Every time we went to lunch, he would take both our room access cards with him because he knew I would be left behind, chilling with the guys in the dining room. Whenever I went back to the room, he would punish me by not opening for me. I would be calling and begging him to open for me and he would take 20-30 minutes before he finally opens the door for me. Then he will be like, "I told you after lunch we need to relax, but you talk too much. Instead of coming back to your room, you want to talk. You will wait until I feel like opening the door for you because I am resting here." That time he's lying on his bed, focusing on his cell phone. Because of that, I learned to keep my own access card to myself rather than relying on him to do it for me. At some stage, he was not happy with me coming back very late to the room, since I had my own access card. So, again, to send a message, he would lock the door with the chain at the back. He knew I would never be able to open the chain lock without him. The door would never open and he would tell me, "You are sitting there, talking non-stop with the guys, when you should be resting in your room. Now you want me to get off this bed and open for you? Go buy me water and I will open for you when you come back," ha, ha, ha. He would remind me that he's older than me and that it was my turn to look after him, since he's been taking care of me for years.
Ha, ha, ha, legendary stuff. Bruno, let's leave it at that for this week. See you in the next edition.
Ha, ha, ha, sure, no problem, bro.
By Vuyani Joni
