KG, welcome back to the pages of Soccer Laduma. Last week you told us about how Fulham spotted you playing for Bafana Bafana against Australia in London.
Yes. During my two-week trial there, I believe that I did well, and they gave me a list of things to work on so I could improve. I worked on everything that they told me to do. But the League was very physical, quick, and involved a lot of running during the game. My teammates were also very welcoming and they made my stay very comfortable. There were players from Africa, and I had an unforgettable experience.
You were signed in August 2009 and made your debut two months later against West Ham United. Talk to us about that experience.
I actually played in the domestic cup matches before I could play in the League itself. My first game against West Ham United was not one of the best games that I could remember because of the red card I received, ha, ha, ha. But overall I enjoyed my stay there even though there were injuries that prevented me from being part of the team. The coach, Roy Hodgson, was very helpful because he believed that I had a lot to offer. My experience of playing against some of the top teams was very good. Playing against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur at the old White Hart Lane, and Manchester United at Old Trafford, it's a feeling that I can't describe. Those matches were good and interesting. With most teams from London, there was always that rivalry, and sometimes I was nervous driving to the stadium when it was the derby. Opposition fans had to be escorted by police to the games to ensure safety. Coming from South Africa, that is something I had never experienced before. There was always that tension before and after the games. But it was a nice experience and always motivating. Being threatened by fans during matches always drove me to prove them wrong or to want to do more. That's what made it more exciting playing in the Premier League.
At Fulham, you had teammates like Clint Dempsey and Bobby Zamora, and a supportive manager in Hodgson. But then you left and joined Crystal Palace.
I had a lot of injuries at Fulham, and when I joined Crystal Palace, it was different in terms of support because their fans are more vocal. They are loud and more passionate, and you would feel the difference between Craven Cottage and Selhurst Park. Unlike here in South Africa, at Crystal Palace they used to sing until the end of the game even if the team was losing. When I look back, I think I enjoyed football more at Crystal Palace than at Fulham. That is also because I played a lot of games.
When you played in Europe there were lots of South African players playing abroad like Benni McCarthy, Steven Pienaar and Aaron Mokoena. But these days, it seems things have changed. Why is that the case?
That is true. I don't know whether that is because the South African football standard is improving or whether local teams are taking better care of players than before. When I moved to Europe, it was all about passion and a dream. My dream was to play at the highest level. Most players also want to play at the highest level and the English Premier League is one of the best in the world. Now players are more comfortable with playing in South Africa, and maybe a few are willing to move abroad and compete against the best.
After you left Cardiff City, you came back to the PSL to re-join Golden Arrows in 2016. Was that something that you planned to do before moving to Europe?
Rejoining Arrows is something that I wanted to do because I felt that the team gave me an opportunity; I left the club without any problems. I wanted to give back to the team, but unfortunately, the injury didn't help because I only played for a season before I called it quits.
Let's switch to your Bafana Bafana career and start with the FIFA Confederations Cup tournament in 2009. What are some of your most memorable moments from the tournament?
We did well, I must say. We were one of the fittest at the tournament and we had a crop of players who were willing to work hard for the team. The FIFA Confederations Cup was good preparation for us ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. I mean, in the third/fourth place match, we gave it our best and lost to Spain. When you reach that level, sometimes experience counts more. If you look at the Spain team we played against, they had a lot of experienced players from Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. With us, we only had about four or five players who were playing abroad. International football experience counted the most, but we were unlucky that we conceded a goal in extra time. But we did well as a team, and I was also satisfied with my personal performance, especially in terms of the work rate. I gave it the best shot. I would always discuss the stats with Teko (Modise) because he was always asking me if I saw how many kilometers I covered in the game. The preparations we had were very intensive; the Bafana conditioning coach was quite good.
Were you satisfied with your performance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup?
I think we took the FIFA Confederation Cup intensity and performance to the FIFA World Cup even though we didn't go through. We lost one match in our group against Uruguay. Itumeleng Khune got a red card and when you play against a team like Uruguay with players like Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, it was always going to be a challenge. I also think we were one or two goals short against France (from qualifying to the knockout stages). We had many opportunities against France that we didn't convert. If we had realized that we were just short of one or two goals, we would have qualified for the next stage. But it was a good experience, and the team was moving in the right direction. We moved up in the FIFA rankings. If SAFA had maintained that mentality of saying, "This is how we are going to do things," we would have gotten it right one day. The current coach (Hugo Broos) is doing similar things to what we did. I think he is going to take us to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
What do you remember about the pass you made against Mexico in the first match?
We went to half-time 0-0. We were playing against great players like Rafael Marquez who was playing for Barce- lona, Giovani dos Santos, who was at Tottenham Hotspur. They were a good football-playing team. They would rotate the ball, but we always kept the shape because we were fit; we never let them control the game. The coach (Carlos Al- berto Parreira) told us that if we kept our shape, we would manage to catch them on the transition. We kept our shape. "Killer" (Katlego Mphela) played a pass to me and I laid it to Shabba (Siphiwe Tshabalala). It was something that we were anticipating because they were committing so many numbers forward trying to score. But we were so disciplined. We were fit. It was just unfortunate that we conceded.
KG, once again, thanks a lot for your time and all the best for the future.
Pleasure, my brother.
STILL IN TOUCH FUN FACTS
Favourite stadium: I played at Old Trafford against Manchester United.
My favourite teammate: Musa Bilankulu
Opponent I respected the most: Mesut Ozil when he was at Arsenal
Team I'd have loved to play for: Tottenham Hotspur
Favourite PSL player right now: I like Themba Zwane, he is doing very well.
Best coach I played under: Manqoba Mngqithi at Golden Arrows
