In the latest edition of My Locker Room Secrets, former Mamelodi Sundowns star Manqoba "Shakes" Ngwenya admits to arriving late for training 'on purpose'. Find out why!
Ngwenya who also played for Wits University FC reveals the coach who gave him the best team talk in his successful football career.
Who was always late?
"That must be me. only Sipho Nunens used to give me a run for my money [laughs].
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"In my case, I think being late was more of a ritual than anything else. I did it on purpose, I always wanted to be the last one to arrive for training so that all eyes would be on me [laughs]. I wanted everyone to see ukuthi now the crocodile had arrived.
"Sipho Nunens loved his beer. He didn't do it at work though, but it made him wake up late all the time.
Any interesting ritual before you played?
"I will not call it a ritual, but we couldn't go to the pitch without singing a song."
Who was the jokester?
"Surprise Moriri. From a distance, he seemed quiet. He made fun of every player. Every time he made a joke, everyone would roll into laughter."
Was it a muti change room?
"We were a praying change room, maybe the club performed its muti rituals on the jersey... I don't know. But as players, we were never made to do any funny stuff."
Who was the singer?
"Benson Mhlongo and Vuyo Mere. Those two were our lead singers. The rest of us we would just follow."
Who was the best-dressed and the worst-dressed?
"This boy from Ivory Coast, Siaka Tiene. He knew how to dress himself, he was on another level when it came to the dress code. He was always smartly dressed. Brian Baloyi also, he was also neatly dressed.
"As for the worst-dressed, we didn't have anyone who couldn't dress properly. Remember, we were called Bafana Ba Style, so we would tell you straight in your eyes not to dress in rags."
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Who never showered?
"Clement Mazibuko. He is going to kill me [laughs]. And the funny thing is, even today we are still teammates in one of the legends' teams, and nowadays he carries a toiletry bag though, something he never did during our time at Sundowns [laughs]."
Rate the coach's team talk
"Neil Tovey. Let me just say he is the only coach I understood clearly what he wanted or expected from me. He didn't complicate things."