In remembering his days as a Kaizer Chiefs player, Edward Manqele recalls the moment that made him feel embarrassed in front of the rest of the team.
The burly striker had made a surprise move to the Soweto giants in 2015 where his former coach from Free State Stars Steve Komphela had also started and was recruiting the players he trusted that would do the job for him to bring the glory days at the club.
In the end, things didn't go according to plan for both the player and the coach and Manqele recalls how he once found himself in trouble with the mentor.
"I think one of the embarrassing moments I ever had in football was when I had a disagreement with Coach Steve Komphela in training at Chiefs which turned out to be something like an argument in front of the team. We had been instructed by the coach to play only two touches in that session whenever one received the ball and had to pass it to someone else immediately. So, on that occasion and I don't remember who I was marking, but I won the ball and played two touches before passing it to a teammate. In my understanding, the touch I made when I won the ball didn't count and I only started counting with the touch that followed and I got a shock of my life when the coach stopped play to address me," said Manqele, speaking to the Siya crew.
"He asked, 'Jabu, how many passes did you play there?' I said, 'Two touches, Coach.' I will never forget that day as the coach looked very upset with me. He was like, 'Are you sure?' I was adamant that I had played two touches. The coach had a serious go at me, and I felt so embarrassed as everyone in training was looking at me at that moment. I just kept quiet as he went on and on and there was nothing I would have done because he is the coach at the end of the day. But Coach Steve is my father in football, and we worked well together," the Randfontein-born player added.
