Posted in News on Jul 16, 2006.
It was an open secret last season that Ernst Middendorp wanted Siyabonga Nkosi in his team and the coach along with the player was delighted when Nkosi’s move from Bloemfontein Celtic to Chiefs became a reality in June.
At the moment Nkosi has one thing on his mind, and that is to face up to the challenge of Manchester United on Tuesday evening in the Vodacom Challenge.
For Nkosi facing Man United and their millionaires, is a dream come true. Should he get time out on the field, he will be playing the game to honour his maternal grand parents Daniel and Maria, the parents of his late mother Nthmebi, who brought him up and guided him along his career path to becoming a professional soccer player.
In this open and frank interview with www.kaizerchiefs.com, Nkosi speaks about his childhood, his new team mates and Manchester United.
KC.COM: Siyabonga it has been a long journey for you to get to Chiefs, where exactly did your love for the game of soccer started?
SN: Probably when I was around six years old and I began kicking around a ball in Mdodozi where I grew up and used to always want to play with the older kids. Initially they never used to let me play with them but once I started picking up some skills on my own and I showed them I could compete I became the first pick when we used to make teams.
Really my starting point was on the uneven roads and sandy pitches in my home town, I some times think that playing on an uneven surface probably helped me improve my game as I learnt to control the ball better as I had to negotiate with a tricky bouncy pitch.
KC.COM: Do you still go back to your home town and are their any particular people who you can thank for guiding you through your youth towards becoming a professional player?
SN: I go back as often as I can, as a young boy I was orphaned at an early age as my mother passed away and I was then taken in by my maternal grand parents who sacrificed a lot for me. Really they must take a lot of the credit for making me the person that I am.
My grandfather was a strict person. He made sure I go to school and finish high school as well as ensured that I worked hard at my soccer. My grand mother provided all the emotional support I needed which helped me develop as a player.
KC.COM: How have you found life at Kaizer Chiefs and have you fitted in well with your new team mates?
SN: Everything has been as I expected, from the way the fans have taken me, into the way I have been treated by the coach and the rest of the technical team. I must also add that my team mates have been most kind to me, not one of them have shown any animosity towards me.
Things have been quite opposite as I have really been accepted well. I made friends easily with a number of the guys and generally it has helped me to fit in and adapt to life in Johannesburg.
Some of the guys call me when we have time off and they invite me home for meals. Without any family in Johannesburg, they have in actual fact become my family which has made living here easy and that has translated into me being able to concentrate on my soccer.
KC.COM: The real reason we are out here is because Chiefs will be playing Manchester United on Tuesday, we have already seen them defeat Pirates 4-0, are you looking forward to playing against them?
SN: Yes, since I heard I could be up against United in the pre season, I have been really excited. As a young boy Manchester United are one of the first teams you hear about and dream of playing against some time in your life.
To me it will be a chance to see how good I really am. To know your true measure as a player you need to play against guys who are more experienced as well as perceived to be better than you.
If you get the better of them, then can only help you go from strength to strength as a person and a player.
When it comes to the way they played against Pirates, to tell you the truth to have expected any thing less than a professional performance would have really been taking things too far.
Pirates like us, knew what they were up against and all it was that United were the better team and the result shows that.
KC.COM: Finally do you think that Chiefs can fare better against Man United than Pirates did?
SN: I can’t really speak for Pirates as to why they performed below par. In my opinion I felt Pirates are in a development phase as they awaiting the arrival of their new coach. So there can be some leniency towards them.
On our side, I think that because we have been playing together for three weeks and have competed in two competitive games already, we are used to each other and are also at a good physical conditioning level. Our preparations have been strenuous and we are also aware of the expectations of our supporters who we don’t want to let down.
We need to get a good result against United so that it will also give us the edge going into our play off game with Pirates as it will be nice to play against United twice.
