Peter: Maestros, Masters!
Ace: Cool and howdy!
Banks: Alive and kicking. How are you, Peter, my man!
Peter: Happy, man, happy! It's good to be alive! Okay, gents, what's on the agenda this week?
Banks: Peter, we're going to tell you and the Soccer-Laduma readers a story about Chimbora Majola.
Ace: Ha, ha.
Peter: Chimbora Majola? Never heard of him...
Ace: Ha, ha. Chimbora is a hellava story...
Peter: Okay.
Banks: Ja...this was in the very early days, 1971 and 1972. We were all staying at Kaizer's house in Phefeni. In those days, everyday five or six players used to turn up for a trial. Ewert would never say 'No' but once they started playing with us, they would see that they were not anywhere near good enough for Chiefs and they would just leave of their own accord.
Ace: But not Chimbora Majola!
Banks: Ja, no way...Chimbora was crazy. A real nutcase...a hellava character. Chimbora was from Virginia in the Free State and I think he used to work in the mines. That in itself tells you that he was a tough character.
Peter: True. Full respect for the men who work in the mines …
Banks: These are tough guys who you mustn't mess with. So one day Chimbora arrives at the training field opposite Kaizer's house. He says that he's a goalkeeper and he wants a trial. In those days we all used to get to training at least 30 minutes before the session was going to start, and we'd do shooting and crossing and so on.
Ace: Ey, these days I wonder if you'll get players doing the same...
Peter: Good point.
Banks: Anyway I said, "Okay, go in goals" and we all lined up to take shots at him. Now the thing is, in those days we had crazy, naughty players at Kaizer Chiefs. They always got up to mischief. There used to be about 17 balls at training. As Chimbora got in goals, the guys lined up the 17 balls on the edge of the big box and all the guys took rocket shots at him at the same time. Plus, the guys were aiming for him, not the goal - 17 rocket shots hit him all at once, all over his body, face and neck!
Ace: Ha, ha...he was diving and jumping to get out of the way. When we got all the balls back he was saying, "No, come on, guys, give me a chance. Be serious." The next minute all 17 balls would be rocketed at him again. By the end of the 30 minutes he could hardly move. His neck was red, his face was swollen and his fingers and arms looked a mess...the guy was almost crying.
Banks: But he was too proud and strong to admit it. Ewert just laughed, thinking the next day he'd be gone with the rest of the trialists.
Peter: And?
Banks: Not Chimbora. Man, he even came and slept on the floor in Kaizer's house!
Ace: Ja!
Banks: The next morning, he begged me for some gloves. Then he disappeared. A few minutes later he was in goals on the training field looking like a madman.
Peter: Why?
Ace: He was wearing Banks' gloves but also a small blanket round his neck, like a scarf, for protection. Plus, he was wearing a huge trenchcoat to protect his body.
Banks: And he was wearing a balaclava. Straight away the guys started laughing and bulldozing him with more rocket shots. Can you imagine guys like Kaizer, Bizzah Dlamini, Ace and Pele Blaschke hitting rockets at you for 30 minutes non-stop! Eventually Ewert came and said, "Hey, you can't dress like that in goals." And he sent Chimbora away...ha, ha.
Peter: And was that the end of that?
Ace: No way! Chimbora wasn't going to give up that easily. If Kaizer Chiefs weren't going to sign Chimbora … then Chimbora was going to sign for Chiefs himself, ha, ha.
Peter: What do you mean?
Banks: Well, Chimbora just didn't leave. He was here to stay! After the training session he came to me and said, "Okay, Banksie, I am not a goalkeeper." But that evening he was back at Kaizer's place, joking and laughing, and behaving just like one of the players.
Peter: Serious.
Ace: Ja, he just stayed on...as simple as that. It was as if Ewert and Kaizer signed him...only they didn't.
Banks: Ja...but he was such a funny guy, a jolly character, always telling jokes and funny stories that the players liked having him around. So Ewert and Kaizer didn't mind because he was good for the morale and spirit of the team.
Ace: Even though he was a teetotaller, he, Banks and Johnny Mokoena were big pals. They used to stay up until 4am playing draughts. I was not such a big friend of Chimbora's so I used to leave them to their draughts.
Banks: Chimbora also used to clean the house, make the food and fix things. He made himself useful from a work point of view and he was good for the morale of Chiefs.
Peter: How did he survive financially?
Ace: We used to give him money and he got other money from doing odd jobs around the area...
Banks: And once a week we'd take him to Meadowlands, stick him in goals and take pot shots at him non-stop. He'd be so sore that it would take a week before we could persuade him to go in goals again. I think Ewert even put him on the bench sometimes for a laugh.
Peter: And what eventually happened to Chimbora Majola?
Banks: After about 18 months he left to go back to the Free State and we've never heard from him since.
Ace: I bet he told everybody about his time with Chiefs and probably nobody believed him.
Peter: Well, Chimbora, if you're still around you can show everyone this column to prove your stories are true.
Banks: Ja, Chimbora, you crazy guy, give us a call. Otherwise, my man, take it easy...just like Sunday morning.
Ace: But if we see you again...don't go in goals!
Peter: Ha, ha. Nice one, guys.
Ha, ha, ha, we hope you guys enjoyed Chimbora's story.
Cheers.
