Today, Marks Maponyane answers the remainder of your questions – we left the playful ones for last! He discusses his nickname, bicycle kicks, playing with a broken jaw and his craziest moment on the field. Enjoy!
Who gave you the nickname "Go Man Go", and why? – Lapo Molebatsi
It was the fans. I just heard them going on and on about it. What happened is that, during those days, you would find that, when we were leading by five goals to nil, the likes of Nelson "Teenage" Dladla and Doctor Khumalo would always get the ball and dribble at the corner, so they would invite me to join in the party. But whenever I got the ball, I would run past the defenders and go on to score because, to be honest, I couldn't dribble. Then the supporters were like, when everyone is knocking the ball around, this man just wants to go!
What happened when your famous bicycle kick went horribly wrong when you were playing for Orlando Pirates? The ball ended up hitting your bum! – Khezwane 73
No, I don't remember anything like that. Everything went right until the last day. No, that's one area I couldn't go wrong. What people don't understand is that once you aim at a bicycle kick and you miss the ball, you will land on the ground very hard, so I always made sure I executed the ball very well.
Is it true that you once played for Kaizer Chiefs with a broken jaw? – Mpho786
I did, it was in 1987. It was just for the love of the game, the opponents didn't know, so I just played on.
What's the craziest thing you did in your football career? – Sphozalava
I don't think it was crazy, but it was when I got my first red card. I was playing for Kaizer Chiefs and we were 5-0 down, they were dribbling us non-stop and I felt humiliated. Archie "Juluka" Radebe was doing all the silly things on the ball and, instead of going for the ball, I went straight through him with a double-footed challenge, and I got my marching orders. It was just out of sheer frustration, the most stupid thing that I have ever done.
What did you think of this interview series? Who would you like to hear from next week?
