The KwaThema born used to mesmerize defenders with his trickery and many soccer pundits even believed that Teenage was the Rolls Royce of South African Football.

Your former Club Kaizer Chiefs is celebrating their 40th anniversary. Describe your feelings…

As far as I know, from the time Kaizer Chiefs emerged from Orlando Pirates, Bra K (Kaizer Motaung) has always been a hard working man with great vision. The list achievements and firsts recorded by the Glamour Boys of Phefeni are like paging through Ripley’ Believe it or not. Since their formation in 1970, Chiefs are not merely a legend, they are source of pride, prowess, and achievement to every black man, woman, and child in South Africa. Despite all the ups and downs in recent years, their influence is beyond question and their pulling power is legendary.

Chiefs rise to fame has been achieved by flamboyance, style and charisma. They have been a source of varied emotion, from wild jubilation to depth of misery to their fans, but never have their supporters deserted them and I would like to wish them a happy 40th anniversary and many more years to grow stronger and vibrant with time.

From which players did you learn when you arrived at Chiefs in 1976?

There were experienced players like Simon ‘Bull’ Lehoko, Chris ‘Rollaway’ Ndlovu, Jackie ‘Asinamali’ Masike, Joseph ‘Banks’ Setlhodi and Gerald ‘Umgababa’ Dlamini, who taught me about the culture of the Club and it was up to me to take their advice, which I did.

Tell us about your official debut game for Chiefs…

It was a cup game against Orlando Pirates at fully packed KwaThema Stadium in 1976. Truly speaking, I never thought I will be in the starting line up and when my name was mentioned I got butterflies in my stomach. Imagine a skinny kid like me suddenly playing against star-studded Orlando Pirates, who boasted the likes of Johannes ‘Yester’ Khomane, Ephraim ‘Jomo’ Sono and Webster ‘City’ Lechaba, to mention only a few. But due to the fact that I was surrounded by equally capable players such as Abednigo ‘Shaka’ Ngcobo, Herman ‘Pele’ Blaschke, and Malombo Lechaba, they made it easy for me and I really had an impressive debut as I created both goals as we beat Pirates 2-1. From that moment on, the Kaizer Chiefs family accepted me as one of them, and I cemented my place in the team.

To read more about the player affectionately known as “Botsotso” or “Umgabadeli” get the 40th anniversary celebration copy of Amakhosi magazine currently on the shelves countrywide. The magazine features exclusive interviews with The Executive Chairman, Kaizer Motaung, Doctor Khumalo, Arthur Zwane and many more.