In the latest edition of My Locker Room Secrets, KickOff catches up with former Lamontville Golden Arrows' rock-solid defender Leonard Xaba.
Whose locker room are you in today?
"Today we are in the locker room of Nkosana Leonard Xaba. I was born in Meadowlands, Soweto in Zone 10. But I was raised in Brits, in the North West Province, in a village called Maboloka. I'm the first-born to my parents."
Who was always late?
"We have two suspects here. the first one was 'Bobo', Daniel Tlhageng. He was our top striker, who came from Kimberly.
"Then the second latecomer was Jason (Jainudeen) Lakay."
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Any interesting rituals before you played?
"Most teams are using muti, so Arrows was no exception. We used muti before games. I remember the day we were made to wet our faces with sewerage water. We smelled like s**t, man. We had to throw such water on our faces... imagine! Just imagine the smell that was there. I can't remember against which team we were playing, but we were at King Zwelithini Stadium."
Who was the jokester?
"The late Siphiwe 'Dr. Mnandi' Mkhonza topped the list, 'Skizo'. That one, he was our comedian. He didn't mind giving you igama elibhedayo. Whoever interacted with Skizo had a crazy nickname.
"He would call me Rocky Madlala and I would call him Pinky Madlala. He'd call me Tsokotlha and I'd call him Seruwe. May his soul rest in peace.
"Another jokester was Tshepo Ntsoane. I can't leave out our goalkeeper Mtheli Mthembu. He used to call me umfazi wephepha, saying I was Mkhonza's wife."
Who was the singer?
"Skizo loved singing, Bonang Ngaka was another one, and Bobo was another one who loved singing. The rest of us were backing vocalists."
Who was the best-dressed and worst-dressed?
"Tekano 'Shoes' Ledimo and Manqoba Mkhize - those two were always presentable. As for me and Mkhonza, you would always find us in our tracksuits, not the club's tracksuits though, our own tracksuits. Those days Arrows didn't have any tracksuits. Me and Skizo only dressed well if we were going to church.
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"As for the worst-dressed, give that one to Francis Chansa. Nobody matched him in that department. He was always in his curtains."
Who never showered?
"The late (Bongani) Ntshangase. He didn't want to hear anything about the shower, he'd tell you straight he only bathes at home."
Rate the coach's team talk
"Khabo Zondo. That guy knew football, I met him again last week at Siphiwe Mkhonza's funeral. He is the one who introduced tiki taka at Arrows. Besilishaya ngesithende."