Shaka reflects on the good old days
Lekopanye Mooketsi | Friday January 9, 2015 12:50
Shaka donned the red jersey in the late 1970s and early 1970s when GU earned the nickname ‘Money Machine’ for winning lucrative tournaments.Nowadays, Shaka does not look like the man who used to run in the football field with such agility. Due to lack of training, he has gained some weight.
But he looks back at the good old days with nostalgia. He says he has always been a Reds man right from his time at Camp Primary School in Gaborone. He dreamt of the day he would don the famous jersey.
“I have always loved GU even when I was at primary school. They used our school’s football ground for training.
We used to wait for them. I followed the team even when I went to Gaborone Secondary School,” he reflects.
He started playing for the Reds when he was a student at Gaborone Senior Secondary School. The boarding master then was another popular GU great, Lele Sebele who coached the school team. He used to take the young Shaka to the team. In 1977, GU officially recruited Shaka. He says that back then, players were driven by passion and not financial rewards.
He says no player made life difficult for him on the field.
The Gaborone derbies between Township Rollers and GU gave him sleepless nights because of excitement.
For him, this was a game to die for. He says that most of the derbies between the two teams always produced a winner.
He recalls one at the Prisons ground when some Rollers players were away mourning. After GU scored two goals, Rollers supporters took the ball and declared the game over saying their players were still mourning.
He a singles out one cup final between GU and Notwane as his best. The Notwane side featured the Moffat brothers and the legendary Willie ‘Paymaster’ Dennison.
Although this was a tough match, GU emerged champions. What was remarkable about the match for Shaka is that he scored with his weaker right foot.
Shaka recalls that cup finals were their specialty hence the team earned the sobriquet ‘Money Machine’.
He used to form a deadly combination with other GU stalwarts like Wiseman Lesole, Chippa Mahloane and Kaizer Brown. He says during their time, they had good managers like the late Wllie Seboni and David Mophuting.
He says when they won an important match, some of their affluent supporters would treat the whole team to a dinner at Gaborone Sun.
Shaka was also called to the national team. During those days, the Zebras played friendlies only, especially during independence anniversaries.
He was in the Zebras side that played Zimbabwe in a ceremony to mark the country’s (Zimbabwe’s) second anniversary of independence in 1981.
He was also part of the national team squad that travelled to play a friendly game against Swaziland.
Besides GU and the national team, Shaka said they also had a strong secondary school team.
His school team featured the likes of Sexton Kowa who became the national team goalkeeper.
He said their school games against St Joseph’s College attracted big crowds just like the popular clubs.
Shaka’s playing career was cut short by a recurring knee injury. He coaches popular social football outfit, Dija Mmogo, that he once played for.