In the latest edition of Story Behind My Nickname, KickOff catches up with former SuperSport United star Richard Rantjie on the origin of his nickname "Shubhebhe".
Who and where did you play?
"Richard Rantjie played for SuperSport United and Wits.
"I was born in Polokwane but grew up in Tzaneen where the sun is usually scorching hot.
"I then went to the Transnet School of Excellence where my talent was identified. That's where SuperSport United saw me."
What's your nickname?
"They called me Shubhebhe. As for commentators they preferred to call me Shuu."
Who gave it to you and why?
"We went to the DRC with SuperSport to play against TP Mazembe in a CAF competition.
"And what happened is each time I was in possession of the ball the opposition crowd would scream 'Shubhebhe! Shubhebhe!
"The funny thing is that those chants motivated me more even though I didn't know if they were insulting me, or they just loved what I was doing. [Laughs] I didn't even know the meaning of that.
"That day bengihamba neyi tsotsi [I was taking them on]. Bengibhizi ngabo. We left DRC the next day, So I couldn't find out the meaning of the nickname.
"From there onwards my teammates at SuperSport started calling me Shubhebhe."
Did you like it?
"I had no choice, it stuck to me, everybody was already calling me Shuu, even today my former teammates still call me Shubhebhe."
Anyone that didn't use it?
"No most of the guys called me Shubhebhe, even the coaches ended up calling me Shuu."
If you could relive it, what would you want your nickname to be?
"My second name is Malesela, so in my kasi they would cut it short and call me Maliza.
"So, I would be Maliza if I could relive it. I grew up with that name in Kasi. I only became Richard Rantjie after turning professional.
"When I grew up players used to have nice nicknames that were relevant to the game. I think we must go back to that culture again.
"We must give these players relevant nicknames and stop naming them 'Kokota Piano' and so on.
"For me, that's out of line. We need deep nicknames and not titles of songs and not this cut and pace."
Who should we ask for their nickname story?
"Sibusiso Mahlangu and Siboniso Gaxa. Maybe they can even explain the Shubhebhe nickname since they were there in DRC."