Yesterday we looked at part one of Mark Williams answers to your questions. Today he discusses what it takes to be mentally prepared for an AFCON final, what has happened to Bafana Bafana in recent years and life before professional soccer when he played for gang bosses.
Magebanator2089: What was your recipe for success for the evening/day of the Afcon final?
MW: I always used to visualise before the game, so I would go out the night before the game. I would go to a place where I could dance and get my mind focused on the game itself and visualize who we are playing and what we are going to have to do. Once it gets in, then I go home and go to sleep.
At Afcon, I had similar situations like that, but I think, for the final, it was the spirit of God and Madiba magic that connected. People were praying and hugging former president Nelson Mandela and I think those two things collided. But it was something inside me that said I must do something for my country that day.
Brian Ndlela: Why has Bafana been struggling since your generation retired?
MW: In my experience, if you have won a world title in any sport, it takes a lot of work. So when we talk about what hasn't been done, it isn't easy to answer.
We need to ask SAFA: where is the development? Because after 1996, players were kicked out. Kicked out! Not because they were old or finished. So they didn't put back in and you can't fix that, it is too broken. Now, after 20 years, they've wondered what is happening?
I tell myself that we need to focus on development. And you know what, everyone thinks we were the best. We also got hammered 4-0 by Nigeria, 4-0 by Senegal, etc. But coach Clive Barker was a smart person. Man to man, he was great, he helped us believe in ourselves when people were calling us the 4X4s, that we needed confidence and belief in our ability. When you have that confidence, you can turn things around. Unfortunately, I don't see that anymore.
There is a lot of development in the country, but is it enough to compete internationally? I don't think so, because there isn't a lot of players playing overseas. Only when you play over there can you bring that experience back to the national team. Only when you play with those guys can you compete. We can't.
Nikolaos Kirkinis: How did you first get scouted and what was life like for you before becoming professional footballer?
MW: I was a kid on the streets, coming from a background of five brothers, and playing soccer for guys who sell drugs on the streets. Playing for them and making money through them, they would pay me if I scored goals. I played tournaments for them.
Then, at the same time, Richard Gomes from Hellenic FC was the first white guy who told me in 1988 to come play professional soccer because he saw me playing at a tournament in Paarl for one of the gangsters. Somebody told him he has to go to Paarl to find this kid.
I didn't know about it, I was just playing and then after the game the guy comes up to me and said he wanted to see my mom. I thought I had did something wrong. What did this white man want from me? Because, at that time, things were not so nice for us.
He just told my mother that I had a lot of potential and they would pay me money to play football. They paid R200 back then. Shaun Bartlett and Benni McCarthy were scouted in similar tournaments.
NK: Is there still talent out there from your area?
MW: Definitely, there are a lot of Mark Williams, a lot of Benni McCarthys, a lot of Shaun Bartletts out there. The only thing is, because of the situation with drugs now, they don't see any opportunity so they start doing drugs, killing and belonging to gangsters. It's sad because sometimes I go back there and there's still a lot of talent.
NK: What makes a great striker?
MW: You must remember, all the strikers – from me, to Shaun, to Benni, to Fani Madida who couldn't play much because he had to compete with me – for all those guys, scoring goals was a gift. You will score goals year in and year out, but if you not a natural striker you will score one year and not the next. Like Katlego "Killer" Mphela. I mean he was a top striker and he can't even find a team now. Bernard Parker also used to score a lot more.
Sometimes managers also play players out of the position, like Wayne Rooney at Manchester United. Look at Barcelona and Real Madrid, they play for Ronaldo and Messi because they want to score.
Look, one thing I should be doing is maybe opening an academy for strikers. I will test them, teach them the basics, how to turn, how to hold the ball, when to pass, where do you get the ball. So maybe I should be coaching strikers; give the boy to me and you'll see, in three months, he'll be a star.
Because these guys nowadays, when they're in the kitchen where it's hot – in the box – they don't have composure, and that's where you say to them, "My friend, this is where you must be smart. You are in control in here. You look at the position, pick the target, and hit it."
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