I was privileged to be in the company of, among others, Mrs Petersen the mother of Hector, the 13 year old who was the first child to die in the Soweto riots in 1976.
The weekend of the riots Amazulu was involved in the second leg of a cup final with Kaiser Chiefs, played in a very troubled Soweto. We lost the first leg 3-1 in Kwa Mashu and blew our chances of winning the cup. The second leg was also a disaster for Amazulu as Kaiser Chiefs continued to hammer us and we lost 5-2, the overall score being 8-3.
The most outstanding player in both those games was Ace Ntsoelengoe, arguably the best player ever produced in South Africa. It was in that 2nd encounter that I stood up as the opposition coach and applauded Ace's goal. He had the composure to adjust in mid-stride and bend the ball with the outside of the foot to beat our advancing keeper, a youngster called Patson Mbisi.
I recently watched the TV broadcast of one of the finest games of all time. It was the game played at the Old Trafford between the hosts, Manchester United, and the great Real Madrid.
Ronaldo showed the football fraternity why he is the best striker in the world, although supporters of Arsenal's Thierry Henry and Manchester United's Ruud van Nisolrooy might disagree. David Beckham once again displayed his sublime talent of scoring goals from dead ball situations.
I indulged myself by comparing the talents of South Africa's legend Ace Ntsoelengoe with those of the French master Zinedine Zindane. Both have displayed the same characteristics of being perfectly balanced, releasing the ball at the right time, never being hurried and able to read and dictate the game better than anybody else in their respective eras in football.
I contacted Carlos Queiroz, ex Bafana Bafana coach, the following day to congratulate both Manchester United and Real Madrid on a wonderful display of football entertainment. A game par excellence!
On the home front the PSL is drawing to a close for this season and Orlando Pirates, with their depth and quality of players might be strong enough to hold off the likes of Wits University and Moroka Swallows. In Kwa Zulu, with the certain demise of African Wanderers, all eyes are on Amazulu and bets are on them to win promotion to the Premier League. They drew 2 all with their arch rivals Premier United in a hugely controversial game. The referee awarded the home team, Premier, a penalty two minutes before full time. A reliable source confirms that the Amazulu coach was assaulted at the match ground the night before the game.
Coincidence or muti?
Watch this space………….