Wow, we’ve been so captivated by your story so far. But as we understand it, there are twists to the tale. So, last week, we finished off with you leaving Natasha Tsichlas’ office having gone there to seek clarity about your situation of not being registered for the season. Let’s continue from there…
So, as soon as I got home, I got a call from Roger de Sa ,who was still at Bidvest Wits. He said, “Gazza, how are you? I heard you didn’t play over the weekend and Mamelodi Sundowns have registered five foreigners already. You are not registered. What is the story?” I told Roger what Mrs Natasha had told me. Roger then said, “But that thing takes long. It means you will be out all that time. Tell you what? Why don’t you come back to Bidvest Wits, and you can apply for your Permanent Residence Permit while you play. You know here, you will be registered while waiting for your Permanent Residence Permit.” I was like, “That sounds like a great idea, Roger. But how do we go about it? I have three more years on my contract with Sundowns.” Roger said, “Leave that to me. Let me work out something.” A week passed by with no word from Roger, while I kept training with Sundowns. Another match came and went, with me being a spectator. It was beginning to get to me. The Sundowns fans came to me after that home game at Loftus, asking why I was not playing. I couldn’t really tell them the whole story. They seemed genuinely worried that I was not playing. I was also cracking inside. My three best friends at Sundowns, Sashi Chalwe, Rotson Kilambe and Siaka Tiene, were all playing, while I stayed at home, especially for away games. It was killing me. Then I got a call from my manager, Mike Makaab.
Right.
