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 23 December 2015 in issue number 953, where Sibusiso Dlamini went back in time and shared stories about his time at Black Leopards. He spoke about Gavin Hunt's strict ways. Characters such as Jafta Mabosho and Thokozani Mnguni were given a mention. Read on below…
Since my retirement in 2014 I've been back in Swaziland. There is a business venture that I've embarked on with Wonder Nhleko and a couple of other guys. I'm also attending coaching courses and I've just finished the Licence 3 course.
Let me tell you how I came to Mzansi... There was a guy who used to be a journalist writing for the Swazi Observer – Celani Shongwe. He got into contact with William Shongwe about me and that's when I got an opportunity to go trial at Mamelodi Sundowns. The club gave me a contract after I impressed on trial. But I really had a great time at Lidoda Duvha because there was a lot of fun. Well, a lot of fun and a lot of pressure... ha, ha... because most of the time before we were able to compete we had to fight to not be relegated. We would set ourselves a target in terms of points, and from there we'd fight for a spot in the top 8.
Back then it was a fairly small team. When I got there, the team was still campaigning in the MTN First Division and things were growing bit by bit. The finances were not that good because it was not a well-known or well-sponsored team, but they were trying their best to make everyone happy and satisfied. We used to camp before matches and I changed roommates a lot. I remember in the beginning I used to share with the club's bus driver. I used to enjoy his company a lot, ha, ha, ha! He couldn't speak Zulu and only spoke Venda and Sotho. He was a funny guy, believe me, and he was very punctual. I remember one time he woke me up and said we must make our beds before going for the pre-match meal. Ha, ha, ha, he was completely unaware that you don't make your bed in a hotel. I also shared a room with Walter Khumalo, Bongani Masangane, Nhleko, Bernard Gama and Quinton Jacobs.
In terms of characters, we had Thokozani Mnguni. He always had excuses for coming late or not pitching up for training. When he came up with a story or news of a relative's death, then you knew that there was a party somewhere in Pretoria and he wanted to be there. He just loved having fun, but when it came to the game he was responsible and committed. He was a funny guy, even at training. He would tell you that he's a striker or Mustapha Hadji. It was impossible not to enjoy his company. We also had Victor Mathelemusa, who only spoke Venda but somehow managed to make us all laugh.
Ha, ha, ha, I've been to a lot of teams and there've been quite a number of funny incidents. I remember after I joined Moroka Swallows we got onto a plane to Port Elizabeth. I took off my shoes while on the flight, only to find that when we got there, they wouldn't allow me to put them on again. Imagine having to walk barefoot from the flight to the airport, all while wearing a suit. Needless to say I was the butt of many jokes among the guys. There was also one time at Leopards when we went to play in Jozi. The players were hungry. A friend of mine from Swaziland brought us pizzas... about three or four. Gavin Hunt saw us coming in with these pizzas, ready to munch them, and he lost his marbles! He told us he was going to fine us if we dared eat the pizzas, ha, ha, ha! We were in a tricky situation. The stomachs were empty but the coach's 'promises' never were. I'm quite sad to say we didn't eat the pizzas after all but were still fined because we lost the following day. We were punished for something we didn't do! After that, we kept saying to each other, "Man, we should have just eaten those pizzas!" Ha, ha, ha!
Gavin was strict when it came to diet. Although he was a white person living in Venda, he was comfortable. He changed things around for the club and made us train on a proper pitch, since he had connections with some white guys from Venda. He made a huge contribution to the team. Every weekend we would have a braai and he enjoyed himself a lot on these occasions. We always knew that, win or lose, we'd have a braai and open up about our problems as a team. He'd shout at you during the game but as soon as the match was over, he'd tell us, "Come on, guys. Let's go!" It was lovely.
There was also Jafta Mabosho. It was the first time I saw a guy who couldn't speak even one language. He was Venda but he couldn't even speak Venda properly. Everything that came out of his mouth was difficult to comprehend. What a character, that one! I recall on one occasion the coach was about to select the match-day squad and he asked if everyone was feeling fit, healthy and okay. Jafta had been performing well at training that week, so when he put his hand up the coach asked, "Jafta, what's wrong now?" He replied, "No, Coach, I've got an injury in my head." Ha, ha, ha! We were all sitting there, wondering what on earth he meant... could it be that his brain was sore!?
There was another incident... We were playing against Manning Rangers in Durban. We won 2-0 and I scored both goals. During the game, there was a miscommunication between our goalkeeper, Walter Khumalo, and our defender, Thokozani Mnguni. As a result, we almost conceded a goal but Walter was able to save the ball. While we were waiting for the corner-kick to be taken, the two guys started klapping each other, ha, ha! It was nothing personal, though. Everything quickly went back to normal and you could hear one saying to the other, "Pick up that one!"
I had some good times there. Cyril Nzama was the one talking nonsense most of the time. There was even one time when everyone turned against him and wanted to hit him. The guys, like Fabian McCarthy and Rowen Fernandez, were tired of him always teasing them, so they told him, "Hey wena, we're not your friends. Stop teasing us all the time!" Ha, ha! Junior Khanye was another one. The funny thing about him was that he never had shower gel, so one time he told us he had bought a large shower gel and that he would let all of us use it. But we later found out he'd bought foam bath and not shower gel, ha, ha, ha!
Never a dull moment with those guys!
Best player I've ever faced: Mike Manzini
Best player I've played with: Thabo Mooki Wonder Nhleko
Biggest pay cheque: Ha, ha, no comment!
Smallest pay cheque: R2 500
Favourite current player: None
Current occupation: Coaching
Former teams: Royal Leopards (Swaziland), Mamelodi Sundowns, Black Leopards, Kaizer Chiefs, Moroka Swallows, Mpumalanga Black Aces, Malanti Chiefs
