Today, Marks Maponyane answers the remainder of your serious questions. He discusses the toughest opponents he has played against, the key to the recovery of Bafana Bafana, how he was first discovered as a footballer, and the possibility of coaching one day. Tomorrow, "Go Man Go" will answer some of your funny questions.
Who was a difficult opponent during your playing days? – 5Skippers87
There were a few, to be honest. We had the likes of Jimmy Gibbert, Jimmy McIlroy, Mike Lambert, amongst others. I had quite a few players who were really trying to stop me from scoring and kicking the hell out of me, haha!
Marks, is there a solution for Bafana Bafana that can stabilise the team to be able to compete in Africa and internationals in the near future? Is there any hope? – Thimboro
Yeah, the answer is very simple. Where there is a problem or a challenge, there's a solution. We just have to identify the challenge and work on the solution. We must not sleep on the challenge.
How were you first discovered as a footballer? – Nikolaos Kirkinis
I was playing regularly and enjoying myself at amateur level. As much as I was scoring goals week in and week out, there was word doing the rounds that there is this guy playing well for his school, and that is how I was discovered. Fortunately, our school was one of those schools that were mostly watched.
During those days, school soccer tournaments were big, you know. That is where the likes of Doctor Khumalo came from. School soccer is very important. That is why I say, as much as you're attending school, you must always make sure that you put a healthy body on a healthy mind.
Have you ever considered going into coaching? – Rodney Mashego
I have never considered going into coaching, even though I love coaching. I have considered being a qualified coach and not going into coaching. I think, because of the lifestyle that I went through, 18 years as a professional footballer, things like going to training and going to camp, those things really went into me. Once something gets into you, you just say "thank you" once it gets out of your way. I want to change my life into a lifestyle, you know. I want to put style in my life, haha!
What do you think of the interview so far? Now that we got the business end of things out the way, visit Supporters Club tomorrow to hear his answers to your some of your hilarious questions.
