Auguston, where have you been, brother? You have been in the game for such a long time, so we figured you'd make a good 'In Touch With…' guest this week. We've actually been told before that you are quite a funny guy!
Hi, my brother. Thanks for the opportunity.
Let's go for it.
When I started playing for Moroka Swallows, I was young, so I played with a lot of older guys. I played with Ryan (Botha). He was always on another level of crazy. He would come there and take your kit and put it in the coach's office. That was my first year in the first team and now I needed to go into the head coach's office to get my kit. That was fun because I am also a character myself. Well, I like to talk a lot. I don't do pranks and stuff, but I talk a lot. Ryan was horrible I tell you, ha, ha, ha.
Well, that must have been so scary as a youngster to have to go fetch your kit in the coach's office. So, what would the coach say when he discovered your kit was in his office?
Back then at Swallows, we used to have one building, but there were three change rooms and then we had where the coaches would sit. So, he (Botha) would leave your kit there on the table where the coaches sat and you would need to go get it. He would even put you under pressure to go get the kit. He would say, "Hey, you are a youngster, you need to be dressed first. Where is your kit? You don't look ready. Go get your kit." Eish, then you would have to go explain to the coach why your kit is in there and why you were not kitted out. By the time you have your kit back and you are dressed, you would find Ryan on the training pitch laughing. Also, when we were in the showers, he would come there with the towel and just hit you. He would always do something that was not right. But he was good guy to be around, ha, ha, ha.
So, would you throw Botha under the bus and tell the coaches that it was actually him who put your kit there?
Ha, ha, ha, you can't do that. That man is crazy. He would punch you or hit you in your arm. That guy used to do funny things. Most guys were scared of him. But I grew up with guys of his nature. The more you are scared of him, the more he just wants to intimidate you.
Can you remember who the coach was at the time?
At the time, we were under Rainer Zobel and Zeca Marques. Zeca had a good character, but Rainer had a stricter personality, so you would be scared to approach him or just go in there when he was in there alone. He was also wondering what on earth was happening with the kit being in there. But coach Zeca knew Ryan's character, so he would be in it most of the time. They were always in it together, ha, ha, ha.
Awesome! Seems like there was lots of fun and games at Swallows at the time. The Birds were flying!
Yho, I played with some funny characters from way back. I played with Lungisani Ndlela and he was one of the characters. He was this tall figure. Whenever he came, people were intimidated, and his character would go with his tall figure. But when it came to running, he did not want to run at all. He would always complain because he was not one for running. He was a box striker. So, Rainer Zobel took out another side in him because every time the coach would day, "Run, run, run" and Lungisani would talk back in his language. Another thing about Lungisani is that he used to dress very nice. He was this tall guy and he had this walk. He would come there with mazaza (sunglasses) and he was so confident. He always made jokes and he brought good spirit to the team.
So, because Ndlela did not like running, did he ever complain if you played a through ball that forced him to do some running?
Most of the time, he wanted the ball at his feet or the head. You are correct. It was him and (Collins) Mbesuma, and I would be the runner for them. They would hold up play up front and I would make the runs. Lefa (Tsutsulupa) would play it for them and the through balls would come through. We had a good team at the time.
Yes, you are mentioning some good players there. What a team Swallows had back then.
One of the best storytellers we had in the team was Siyabonga Nomvethe and what's funny is that his stories were told strictly in IsiZulu. If you did not know IsiZulu, then shame, you would miss out on good stories. Everyone would listen attentively because it was true stories. It was about his life in Italy and how it was playing for African Wanderers with the likes of Sibusiso Zuma. He had so many stories to share. Most of the youngsters who came from the development would surround themselves around him because he was an idol to us as we watched him while growing up. Most of us understood what he was saying, but some of the white guys did not hear and they would have their earphones on. We wanted to hear all his stories.
Ha, ha, ha, trust Bhele not to budge with his IsiZulu. Those must have been interesting listening sessions for you as the youngsters. That's where we leave it then, catch you next week.
Thank you.
IN TOUCH FUN FACTS
Nickname: Gusty
Marital status: Married to Yandré Leonard
Car: VW VeloCiti
Boots: Puma
Favourite TV programme: Power
Favourite food: Pap, lamb chops and tomato gravy
Facebook or Twitter: None
Siyagobhoza or interviews: Interviews
Favourite footballer: Lionel Messi
Favourite celebrity: Trevor Noah
