A big central defender, who actually transitioned from a left back, Collen Tlemo linked up with Jomo Cosmos in 1994. Interestingly, it was the only ever club he featured for locally, having also had a spell with Portadown in Northern Ireland. As a youngster, the move abroad was akin to manna from heaven, except that it didn't yield the desired result as homesickness saw him back at Ezenkosi only two years later. Retirement from the game happened in 2002. "I was not particularly ready for it, but Jomo Sono asked me to sit on the bench with him, to be the club's assistant coach, and I duly obliged. Maybe he saw potential in me," he reveals.
Collen, it's been a long while since Soccer Laduma last had a chat with you. In terms of the PSL, you were a one-club man, having only featured for Jomo Cosmos. But what some may not know are the interesting circumstances that surrounded your move to the side…
You must remember that back in our days, school football was a big thing. Jomo (Sono) and the likes of Ace Ntsoelengoe had a team of legends that they had, and we got an opportunity to play against that legends' team while we were still at school. Our team was made up of a selection of players from East Rand, and I think that's where he spotted me. The current First Division (Motsepe Foundation Championship) was known as the OK League then, and that's where I was also playing for a team called Boksburg United. Jomo used to watch a lot of First Division games, so he followed me and that's when he spotted me. Ha, ha, ha, eish, Jomo… I don't know whether to refer to him as isela (a thief) or what, because he drove all the way from Jo'burg to a place called Wattville in Benoni, where I stayed. I don't know who furnished him with my residential address, but he came to my home, but he didn't find me. You know the time sisakhula, besijola (when we were growing up, we were dating). I had gone out to see my girlfriend on the other side of the township. He came there! He found me there and spoke to me, to say, "Hey ndoda maan, ngiyakufuna wena (man, I want you). You must come to my office after school tomorrow." His office was situated on Small Street at Nedbank Mall. So, that's how I started to join Jomo Cosmos.
Club bosses back in those days were very hands-on and were never shy to take matters into their own hands, so you shouldn't have been surprised that Bra J knew where to find you. So, you get to Cosmos, how do you find things there?
Yazi (You know), Lunga, you see, when you came from the East side, from the Wattville Benoni side and you got there and met the Soweto guys, there was this notion that the Soweto guys bahlakaniphile (are smart). They regarded us as iibhari-nyana (the not-so-intelligent ones). So, we always used to have that thing of saying, "Sifuna ukubagcwalisela abantu base Soweto, bacabanga ukuthi bango kleva (We have a point to prove to Soweto people, as they think they are klevas)." When I got there, I told myself that I was not there to mess around, I wanted to play for this team. I was playing left back, back then, and then that day Jomo made us play XI v XI at training just to see what was going on. Well, in fact, Jomo liked XI v XI. I remember the team had the likes of N'Dayi Kalenga, those strikers who were very quick. During that session, Collen would do what he was best at – get the ball, overlap, tackle where he needed to tackle… you know, that thing of wanting to show that you are also here. Arthur Zwane was there as well, he was also young; there was Godfrey Sapula as well, Henry Gondwe, to name a few. So, I would make a tackle, get the ball, pass one or two players and then make a cross, and I had that feeling that bazogcwala ngam (I'm going to show them what I'm made of). The other team that he had selected was the one that he was going to the match with because the league season was already underway when I joined.
Hmmm, so it was all about going out and securing that respect for you?
Respect, definitely. Ja, ja. Jomo would sit up there on the stairs and watch everything that was going on.
Here is where it gets interesting, ha, ha, ha…
My team, Boksburg United, were expecting me to be at their training session, but I was training with Cosmos. My boss made a call after that, asking me why I didn't pitch up for training. Now I needed to come up with stories, what I was going to tell him. And my boss was a taxi owner… very clever, very streetwise. He knew that as one of the disciplined players in the team, there was no way I was just going to miss training without a valid reason. So, I was sitting there and thinking of what excuse I could give him. Do I thumbsuck a story about something that came up at home? Or a school issue that needed my urgent attention? I knew that if my excuse didn't have anything to do with home or school, then that would raise suspicions on his side. So, in the end, I said to him, "No maan, there were some things that I needed to do for mom at home." Meanwhile, I knew that that could not be further from the truth, as all I wanted was to move to Cosmos. Remember, when I came back from school, I would do my homework and then the team bus would come and fetch me for training. It was coming from Soweto. Most of the guys I was playing with, the likes of Norman Meje, the late Christopher Zinto Dube, were from my side of the township. That day when I went to train with Cosmos, the bus driver didn't find me, ha, ha, ha.
So, your boss eventually found out though?
Ja, he found out. The following day, Jomo wanted me to come back to training again. I asked him, "How do I deal with this issue of Boksburg United and my boss?" He said, "No, I'll approach him." So, I think he made a call and spoke to him, to say, "Hey maan…" Because the first player to join Cosmos from that same team was Zinto Dube, and I also followed. So, he said (to Jomo), "Ok, cool, come and let's talk then about money things and stuff."
Now these were two street-smart people in one room – those negotiations must have been something else hey.
Yes, ha, ha, ha. They were two bulls (in one kraal)!
From then on, your Cosmos career took off and you never looked back.
No, never looked back. I played at Cosmos that season. The following season, I left for Portadown in Northern Ireland.
One season at Ezenkosi and you're already moving overseas!? Now how did that one happen?
Actually, those people from Ireland were watching our games in the First Division. There was a guy named Kenny Lamont, who was talking to people from that club, and then they sent (flight) tickets and everything for my trial at Portadown. I went to trial there and then they said, "No, no, you are not going back home. We want you to play for us." Jomo made a deal with those people.
It must have been some experience for you, considering your age at the time.
I was very young. Remember when I went to Ireland, I had just finished my matric and you know, when you are a young boy in South Africa and you watch the likes of Kaizer Chiefs, (Orlando) Pirates and Cosmos, you tell yourself that one day you want to play there. And then all of a sudden, you are still a young man, who's still crawling, awukakami ngezinyawo, usabamba ngetafile (you can't even stand up on your own two feet, only using the table as your support structure when standing), and then you are taken overseas. You are still staying with your mother at home, and homesickness is bound to be there. Why I'm saying this is because these things do affect you. I remember Steve Lekoelea saying he was scared of being homesick and didn't want to go overseas when he got an opportunity to sign with Ajax Amsterdam. You know, I got those things. I got homesick. I stayed in Ireland two years and those things did affect me a bit. It's a different environment, it's very cold, it's not like in South Africa where it's very sunny. It's not an excuse, bhuti wam (my brother).
STILL IN TOUCH FUN FACTS
First paycheque: R1 500
Biggest bonus: R120 000
Opponent you respected the most: Pollen Ndlanya Jerry Sikhosana
Team you would have loved to play for: Kaizer Chiefs
Favourite PSL player right now: Themba Zwane
Best coach played under: Tshisa Nkambule Jomo Sono
Craziest request from a fan: Ladies asking me to hook them up with certain players
