When Siyabonga Nomvethe began his career as a burgeoning 20-yearold striker at African Wanderers, soon to earn a move to Kaizer Chiefs, he had a fire in his eyes that burned as brightly as his speed of movement and thought on the pitch. Now, at the ripe old age of 39, the fire is far from extinguished from the veteran striker’s eyes, even though his pace has started to slow. KICK OFF’s Robin-Duke Madlala caught up with “Bhele”, who is still regularly banging in the goals in the National First Division.
Maybe it’s his divine gift, maybe it’s the near 30-kilometre jogs from Gateway Mall in Umhlanga to KwaMashu, or maybe it’s something none of us will understand, but Siyabonga Nomvethe has shown longevity in football that few after him will ever surpass.
Now turning it on for AmaZulu, the former Bafana Bafana striker has shown no signs of slowing down and had, by the time Usuthu beat Mbombela United 1-0 at Kwanyamazane Stadium on March 4, scored 13 league goals this season.
It put him third in the scoring charts behind Thanda Royal Zulu’s Mhlengi Cele, who had scored 15, and five behind Royal Eagles’ much talked about Sedwyn George.
The veteran is still showing extraordinary gallop and says he never imagined he would still be playing football at his age, but what was important for him was to remain disciplined.
His first objective in football was to play in Europe, something he achieved when he signed for Udinese from Chiefs in 2001.
“I never thought I’d still be playing football at this age. My main aim was to work hard and go to Europe and it happened – the rest has really been a bonus,” Nomvethe tells KICK OFF.
“For me to stay disciplined was something I was taught at home by my parents and I took that into my game. My parents wanted to see me succeed and they knew that staying disciplined would help my craft.
“But many people played a big role, especially coach Muhsin [Ertugral]. He had a massive impact on my career. When I was growing up as a young boy, I was not a fan of media attention. What was important was to focus on my career and the talent that God gave to me.
This story is from the April 2017 edition of Kickoff.
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This story is from the April 2017 edition of Kickoff.
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