In this week's edition of our feature Kit Manager, SuperSport United's logistics manager and kit man Pedro Nxusa reveals the behind-the-scenes details of his crucial role.
Who am I?
"I am Pedro Nxusa. I am a logistics manager at SuperSport United, and together with Sipho Mabuza I'm also involved with the kit. We prepare the kit for each training session. We also prepare the kit on match days."
My club...
"I've always been here at SuperSport United. I've been here since 2007. I started as a driver transporting players to training."
Coaches I've worked with...
"When I started out Pitso Mosimane was still here. Then it was Cavin Johnson, Gordon Igesund, Stuart Baxter, Eric Tinkler then Gavin Hunt."
The hardest working player...
"There were four actually, Hlompho Kekana, Dean Furman, TT [Thatayaone] Dithlokwe and Ronwen Williams. I was transporting Ronwen Williams when he was 13."
Most talented player I watched...
"Again they were more than one, Teko Modise, Anthony Laffor, Elias Pelembe, Dean Furman, Thuso Phala, Yeye Letsholonyane, and also Daine Klate. I can say Yeye, Pelembe and Daine Klate were the most talented. I've watched Daine Klate practising free kicks 30 minutes before every training session. That's why he was so deadly in dead-ball situations."
Talent that disappeared...
"The one that broke my heart and I used to drive him, it was Masibusane Zongo. That was the most talented player we ever had at SuperSport United. Alcohol was his biggest problem. Tjoo he was so rude that boy. He was so arrogant."
What my day looks like...
"One thing I don't have time for is tea [laughs]. I wake up at 05:00, at 05:45 I leave for our clubhouse in Midrand to pick up Thapelo Maseko and Keagan Johannes. By the time I arrive at training, it's already 07:00. I find Sipho Mabuza already busy preparing the training kit. I help him. I hit the gym for five minutes. As a kit manager, you need to be fit because most of the time you spend standing on your two feet. Our training session starts at 08:30. Our training sessions usually end at 12:00, and after training, I head straight home to take my daily afternoon nap. "My favourite part of my job is the three hours we spend before a match preparing the kit. That's very challenging. It's the most important part. Preparing the matchday kit is not a simple thing, there are tights, warm-up kits, shorts and shirts, rain jackets, balls, bibs and cones. You forget a jersey of just one player, and you need to drive back to fetch it."
Bizarre player requests...
"Yhoo they are all the same. They always forget important stuff these boys. Sometimes one of them will tell you he has forgotten the socks they usually wear during warm-ups. Somebody will tell you he has forgotten the tights he wears during games. And you as the kitman must make a plan to make it available. So, for you, as a kitman to be safe, you must take everything with you when you travel to matches. You must always carry spares with you.
"Imagine me and Sipho Mabuza inside a van carrying the kit, on our way to Polokwane travelling for a game. The team follows us with the bus, do you think the match will continue tomorrow if that van of ours gets hijacked or gets involved in an accident? That's how important the job of a kit manager is."