Mzawuthethi Nogwaza is best known for his time at Bush Bucks, playing alongside an equally talented bunch of stars such as Mongezi Malashe, William and Wilfred Mugeyi, Mongi Rula, Brendan Augustine, among others. Yet it was at Liverpool, in the then OK League, where his career started in 1990. From Imbabala, he moved to Mother City FC, only to soon be back at his hometown club. Nogwaza also featured for Bloemfontein Celtic and Dynamos, before retiring at Dangerous Darkies in 2002. "I came back from the December break in January 2003 just to ask for my clearance, then got into my car, and that's how I stopped playing football. I still had the energy, but I no longer had the spirit to go on because of all the football politics. It's painful to fight a battle that you aren't going to win," he recalls.
Legend, it has been a very long time, we're glad to see you are alive and kicking! So, what is Mzawuthethi Nogwaza doing these days?
Ey, he is running his own little company for survival. I opened a company and have been running it ever since I stopped playing football, and I've been empowering myself and studying so that I can expand in the market. On the other side, I play over-35s football here in Mthatha. I've always been based here in Mthatha. Even when I was playing for Mother City, every second week I would be back home. Some of the locals here just couldn't believe that I was working in Cape Town because of this, and I used to tell them that for me, home comes first. Whenever I felt like it, I would go home, but rest assured, you will find me at the next training session. And when I was not going to come to training, I would tell you as the coach or club owner, and if you had a problem with that, singas'ke sikhululane ukuba kuphelele apho (then I could not rule out a parting of ways).
Talk to us about your early days at Bush Bucks.
I was quite matured by the time I went to Bush Bucks, such that when I arrived there, I never sat on the bench. I played straight away because I had played for Liverpool in the NFD (National First Division), back then known as the OK League. I played in that league from 1990, when I was 19 years (old). Even there, not even a single day would you find me sitting on the bench. In 1993, the team got relegated and went to campaign in what is now known as the ABC Motsepe League. However, I helped the team gain promotion back to the NFD the following season. That's when I went to go and ask to train with Bush Bucks because we were on off-season and had been coming from the play-offs. Luckily, I found a coach there who had no discrimination. I told them I had come there just to train, only to find that he saw a player he could sign. That's how I joined the team. I never went for trials, I just went to train so that by the time pre-season came around, I would be fit because I took care of my fitness as a player.
How was the welcome then after you were roped into the set-up?
Hayi (No), shame… you see, Bizwell Phiri had just passed on and the club had a new coach, Steve Phiri from Malawi. That was a blessing in disguise for me, finding a new coach, because his predecessor, I used to play against his side in the Bob Save Super Bowl, but he never saw anything in me. Look, I won't say I was happy that he passed away, but kwelinye icala ke shame yandincedisa (on the other side, that did play in my favour). I trained there and then not even a week later, I was signed. I told him, "I play for such-and-such a team", and then he said he would speak to the club owner, Sturu (Pasiya), so he could go and talk to the team (Liverpool) for Bush Bucks to buy me. Otherwise, to answer your question, in terms of the spirit, it was positive as I was playing with guys I used to play with at school level, like (Mongezi) Malashe, Mongi (Rula), (Mzunani) Mgwigwi. We grew up playing together both in the community and at school level and we knew each other quite well. It was just that they were playing at that level. When I went to Bush Bucks, I found people I was used to and I played my normal game, there was nothing special. Even the likes of Sipho Ndzuzo, we used to play together at school level. It was just simple for me.
We imagine in terms of the finances, that was different level too…
Well, in the NFD, there was not much money, it was just something for you to go to school and try to make the best of it. It was not even a salary but what is called a stipend. My life changed a little once I got to Bush Bucks. Even when we were playing in the PSL, there was no money and for you to get it, you had to fight for it. Yile yayindidika ke (That's what got on my nerve), you had to open your mouth first and demand. That time, you can see there is money for guys from Jo'burg or Zimbabwe, but when it's you, there's no money. The strange thing is that sometimes you would be playing and they would be in the stands!
So, how did you know that some of your teammates were earning better salaries than you?
Ndandi smart ngolona hlobo (I was way too smart), and it's only when I stopped playing that I could talk about how I was able to get such information. I would sometimes get a salary increase twice a year, and that was during those times when I went on a one-man toyi-toyi. And if you didn't want to give me that increase, ndiyayiyeka futhi kwalo bhola yakho (I wasn't afraid to quit football). Yes, I know that I signed a contract that said one, two, three, but I can see now that ndiyaqhathwa (I'm being shortchanged). For me to get all of that information… We had an office where we used to go to… Okay, let me make an example about Kaizer Chiefs. They have their office in Naturena, where there's a receptionist, where there's a wing called payment. As for us, we used to go get our money from the payment wing every month-end. In those days, we used to get paid in cash and they would just put the money inside the envelope. When you as the players got there, you had to form a queue and then proceed to get your envelopes. So, the safe where the money was kept was stationed at another office, which was situated at the back. That was some distance away.
Hmmm…
So, I usually went to collect my salary days after every player had come in. This would catch the receptionist off-guard because she was not expecting me, as I never used to forewarn them of the date I was going to come in. I did this deliberately, in order to avoid a situation where the receptionist would prepare the money and just give it to me on arrival. I never used to spend my salary, I guess I became smart from a young age. I would leave it at the office, and what I would do is that I used to be a 'loan shark' to my teammates. However, the difference between me and the normal loan shark is that with me, there was no interest involved – you just had to return the money as you received it. Come month-end, I would go get my money from the guys that were owing me and then pay my debts, which is why I would only go later to collect my salary. So, when I sent the receptionist to the other office, I would grab this one book that was placed underneath a heap of documents. That was the book that contained the list of players and what each one of them was earning. I would look up that information. Whenever there was a new player, obviously his name would be on the last page, ha, ha, ha.
Ha, ha, ha, yes!
I would go straight to that page and then, as I was going through the list, I'd be like, "Okay, here's so-and-so, he's getting paid this much." I would then close the book, put it back, wait for the receptionist to return, take my money and go. The next day, I would demand a meeting with Sturu. This is where I would tell him, "This one, that one and that one are not playing, they are in the stands, or they are new, but they are getting paid the same as me." I can never get the same amount as someone sitting in the stands. Tu (Never)! Just because he comes from Jo'burg? Likewise, he can never get paid more than me. If he's getting R500 more than me, then the situation must be reversed and I must get R1 500 more than him. So, that's how I used to win in terms of getting information.
By Lunga Adam
