Dukes, this week we finally close the curtain on your incredible run on Still In Touch. You promised us a Lindokuhle Mbatha story in edition 1337, so let's dive straight into it.
Yeah, yeah! So, he came to Tzaneen straight for a trial and they (City Pillars) signed him. From there, I later went with him to Mpumalanga Black Aces, until he went and played for Mamelodi Sundowns and Highlands Park. He was a young boy from Newcastle. His father was a taxi owner. Back home they were calling me, telling me, "Hey, you must take care of that young boy maan. He must be disciplined." His father was so strict you won't believe it. I remember one day he called me, he was at Eastgate (Mall). He asked to see me, so I went there. We spoke and then he said to me, "You must take care of this young boy. You are disciplined, so he must also be disciplined." Well, after reaching the final of the Nedbank Cup, when we got our bonuses, the boy went and did a driver's licence test, which he passed. That meant he was now able to buy himself a car since he had a driver's licence. When he went home, he broke the news to his father and then showed him his driver's licence. Jislaaik, the father took the driver's licence and, right there and then, cut it with a scissor, ha, ha, ha! I'm telling you!
Ha, ha, ha, the old man wasn't messing around.
You can even ask him (Mbatha). He used to call me "Mdala". So, when he came back, he came up to me and said, "Ahh, Mdala!" I asked him, "What's wrong?" He told me, "Ah! Lo baba! Uthathe i-licence yam (This man! He took my licence) and he cut it." I couldn't believe what he was telling me, so I went like, "Beg your pardon?" He said, "Uthi ngidlale ibhola (He says I must play football). He says I'm not Schumacher, I didn't come here to drive cars but to play football." I told him, "Ukhulum' iqiniso (He's telling the truth)." The father then called me and I could hear he was angry. He asked me, "Machaka, kwenzakalani ngalo mfana (what's happening with this boy)? Why is he getting a driver's licence? His job is to play football, not to buy cars and gallivant with Jo'burg women." I had to apologise on the boy's behalf, you know. Only when he was playing at Platinum Stars did his father give him permission to buy a car, because he was young and the father was showing him that when most of the players start playing (in the) PSL, they rush to go and buy cars, you understand? They are not investing. Every month when he got his salary, the father took the money and he bought him cows and goats at home. The father was taking care of his finances very well.
The player will obviously be unhappy about it, but will later realise the father had his best interests at heart. No wonder Mbatha turned into this consummate professional, about whom you'll never hear a bad story.
You must ask him where he knows Machaka from. Like I said, he was still a young boy when he came to Tzaneen, but what I noticed is that he had respect and was so determined to go far in his football career. He was committed maan and I used to tell him, "The way you play, mfana (boy), you remind me of Helman Mkhalele. You people of Newcastle are too fit and you have got respect." He was a very good player.
Now let's move on to this story. Do you still remember a guy named Salief?
He, he, he, Salief! That man… I was still playing at Bay United under coach Shakes Mashaba and I was the captain. I still remember him, he was from Guinea. After training on the way to camp, we would stop at the garage and the players would buy their snacks and whatever. Salief was terrorising these players. There was this boy, Gordon Gilbert – you know him?
Yes, yes, he played for Mpumalanga Black Aces as well as Kaizer Chiefs at some stage. We actually weren't aware he also played at Bay United…
Yes, he was playing as our left back and was brought by Senzo Mbatha from University of Pretoria. In fact, both he and Salief were coming from University of Pretoria, but they didn't sign Salief. After Bay United, Gilbert came to Aces. When I went to Aces, he followed me. That's where Chiefs saw him and signed him.
Oh, ok, we see. Go on.
We used to travel in two Caravelle kombis. I was in the one kombi. It appears that in the other kombi, Salief was having a field day. He always wanted money from Gilbert. He would say to him, "Give me money, I don't have money to buy snacks." When we got to camp, Gilbert came to me and told me that Salief had beaten him for his money. I listened to the story and just left it at that. The following week, we went to play a game. Once we were in camp, we went to the dining hall. However, I came late, together with "Mabhuti", Gareth Ncaca. Salief had apparently told the other players, "You know that captain of yours, Dukes, I wanna solve him. He thinks he's a big man in this team." When I arrived at the dining hall, it was quiet, players were eating. Coach Shakes was not there. I could sense that something was amiss. After eating, I left with Ncaca – we were going back to our rooms. It was at this point that Salief stood up from his seat and followed us. He then nudged me on the shoulder, I turned back and then he said to me, "Why do you want to defend Gordon Gilbert?" I said, "No, I'm the captain of the team. How can you beat a player for his money?" Ey, that guy! He was big, he was like Mike Tyson.
Doesn't look like this ended well…
He grabbed me and wanted to beat me. I immediately pushed him back. He wanted to hit me and I countered that by knocking him with one punch. Before I knew it, he was on the ground, writhing in pain. An ambulance was called and he was taken to hospital. He had to get stitches at the hospital. The following day, I woke up injured – my left hand was swollen from the incident. They took me to the doctor with him, and come to think of it, we were in the same bus! He was going for a check-up. We arrived there, he went in, did his check-up and went out. Now it was my turn. I went in, and the doctor asked me, "What happened to your left hand?" I told him, "I was fighting with my teammate." Yho, that guy was so shocked!
Ha, ha, ha.
He said, "What!? The guy who was here just now?" I told him, "Yes." He asked, "You beat that big elephant?" I said, "Yes." He was like, "No, no, no, you are too small to beat that guy. That guy is Mike Tyson." From then on, Salief and I became friends. He started to respect those boys. I told him, "No, you must not do this, man. We are here to play football. We must guide these young boys." He came to my room to apologise and I told him, "This is South Africa maan, don't do that, I will kill you!" I said that in a joking way though, of course, ha, ha, ha.
Well, just for the record, we don't condone violence, least of all in sport, just as bullying has no place in society, but we are happy to hear the story eventually took a turn for the better. On that note, we bring an end to your seven-week stint on this page and we'd like to thank you so much for your time, Dukes.
Thanks, my man. I really appreciate it. Like I told you, this season was not my season after losing my daughter, but anyway, I'm recovering. Thanks very much for uplifting my spirit. May God bless you.
STILL IN TOUCH FUN FACTS
First paycheque: R2 500
Biggest bonus: R5 000
Opponent I respected the most: Johannes Mine
Team I'd have loved to play for: Kaizer Chiefs
Favourite PSL player right now: Themba Zwane
Best coach I played under: Jacob Sakala
Craziest request from a fan: None, just requests for sports merchandise
