Soccer Laduma's 'In Touch' 'Still In Touch' feature has been a fan favourite for almost two decades in Soccer Laduma's weekly newspaper.
Millions of readers turn to it first each week to read the crazy stories that Mzansi's former players tell and to see current soccer stars dish the dirt on their teammates and coaches.
Over the years, together with our readers, we have laughed uncontrollably and gasped with disbelief at stories that have never been told before!
Due to the incredible success and reading pleasure over the years and the timeless nature of this incredible content, Soccer Laduma has dug through the archives to bring back to life some of the gems you may have missed, or simply want to re-read and share with your friends.
This week, we look back to 21 April 2010 in issue number 667, Kaizer Chiefs' former legendary goalkeeper Peter Bala'c takes us back to the 80s, when Amakhosi were a real force to be reckoned with. He shares stories about Teenage Dladla, with whom he shared a room in camp, as well as about some of the interesting rituals that were performed prior to games.
How's it, Lunga? Let's get straight to business. I remember sharing a room with Teenage Dladla once or twice and at times with Lucky Stylianou. Teenage was by far the funniest guy in the team. We used to stay at the Orion Devonshire hotel in Braamfontein before every game. I'll never forget the one time I came back to the room after tea one night. The curtains were closed and there was smoke coming from behind the curtains. I thought the hotel room was on fire! I rushed to the curtains and pulled them back, and guess who was behind the curtains having a cigarette? Teenage! He knew I didn't like smoking (laughing).
Teenage had a great personality, he was full of life and it circulated through the team. He was such a funny guy and a nice guy. He was never down and we all sort of fed off that. There's no doubt in my mind that he was probably the best player that we had. But in saying that, we had some nice gentlemen in the team who were true professionals. They were dedicated and played for the love of the game rather than the money and I'm telling you, if they played today they would be millionaires. Sylvester Kole was a nice guy. I don't know if you remember him, he played centre half. Nick Sikwane played left back and he was very shy. Leonard "Wagga-Wagga" Likoebe was a bit of a wild boy. Samora Khulu was a lovely guy. Sadly, I understand he's passed away. Frank "Jingles" Pereira was the joker of the pack and the rest of the guys used to respect him tremendously. In the five years I was there, there was great camaraderie and friendship among the players and I think that's why we were so successful.
No, we were fine. We used to do a lot of travelling. If we were playing on a Saturday, we would be playing friendly games before then and we would have 40 000 people coming to watch us play friendly games! We used to go to Mmabatho, Thohoyandou, Bophuthatswana and all over. We all mixed very well. I didn't see it as a problem even though I was coming from England. The racial divide wasn't there. Jingles, Lucky and myself were pretty much Europeans in a way, but wherever we went we were always welcomed. We once played a semi-final against Highlands Park in Durban and the crowd was enormous. We drew that game and we couldn't get out of the stadium and we eventually missed our flight back to Johannesburg. We then left the stadium and went to Umlazi next to the airport and had nowhere to stay. The only hotel they could get was in the middle of Umlazi. Obviously I'd assume no white people had ever stayed at this hotel in a black township in Durban. It's not the sort of place you would go for your holiday (laughing). They booked us into this hotel and they had to prepare a room for Jingles, Lucky and myself. The funny thing is that in the evening we went downstairs to the bar to have some drinks. I would imagine it was the first time they'd ever seen white players in this particular bar in the hotel! But then they realized we were Kaizer Chiefs players and that created a bit of interest. However, in the meantime, I was having a drink at the bar and the police came to arrest me because they thought, "What is a white guy doing in a black bar?" They were taking me outside the door when Joseph "Banks" Setlhodi walked up to them and explained to them who I was and what I was doing there. For the rest of the evening the police couldn't stop buying me drinks (laughing).
I believed in it fully. When you win 11 trophies in five years, something must have been going right. It had to be the muti (laughing). They took my boots and gloves and I did certain things. I also remember the other players used to come back with scars on their legs and they used to go to some rivers in Soweto and get given some stuff to be fit and to get the evil out of their stomachs. I think the most memorable one they ever did with me was when we were playing Durban City away. It was my first game. We were staying in the hotel the Friday night before as we flew down in the morning and they woke me up at 05h00 and took me into a room. Ryder Mofokeng, our captain at the time, was there as well. They started throwing a gem squash at me and asked me to catch it. I thought to myself, "What's going on here?" Then the next minute they take me into the bathroom where they had a chicken. I thought it's a bit early for breakfast to have a chicken. Then they cut the chicken's throat, put blood in the bathtub and asked me to go and wash myself in it. Well, I've had showers before, but I've never had a blood bath (laughing). But because we were so successful I never ever questioned it and I'm a bit of a superstitious person myself anyway.
In 1981 we got to the Mainstay Cup final against Orlando Pirates in Soweto. This was my first big moment, and massive game. It was just by coincidence that my mother and father were out in South Africa visiting me at that time. They came to the game. I don't know if you remember, but in Soweto there was this little tiny grandstand right across from the players' entrance. My parents sat there. When I went out onto the pitch, it was all black people in the crowd. Reality hit home when I walked out to 40 000 blacks in the stadium and my mom and dad were sitting there in that little grandstand, the only white people there (laughing). It was just strange, a funny feeling really! But I was so proud to be there, and to have them watch.
Best player I've ever faced: Tornado Ntsibande
Best player I've played with: Teenage Dladla
Biggest pay cheque: R1 300
Smallest pay cheque: R60
Former team that used the most muti: Kaizer Chiefs
Favourite current player: Steven Gerrard
Current occupation: Sales consultant
Former teams: Plymouth Argyle (England), Durban City, Lusitano, Sacramento Gold (America), Kaizer Chiefs
