Fear of being a statistic helped make Nyongo a star

Tapelo Nyongo Photo: Muzi Ntombela

Tapelo Nyongo Photo: Muzi Ntombela

Published Oct 7, 2016

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Tapelo Nyongo

The Lad’s got talent

Age:21

Club: Amazulu

Hometown: Khayelitsha

His maturity, on and off the field, betrays the fact that he only turned 21 at the beginning of the year, January 1. It’s that maturity, among other reasons, that saw him given the armband at AmaZulu where he leads a team that boasts seasoned campaigners such as Siyabonga Nomvethe and Mabhuti Khenyeza.

Growing up in a crime-ridden Khayelitsha, near Cape Town, Nyongo had to grow up quickly to avoid being a statistic in a township infamous for violent crime.

He saw that violent nature first hand when he lost three of his teammates through it in his time with amateur side Silver City. Their death shook him.

It also motivated Nyongo to not only make a success of himself, but also do it far away from home.

“The death of my teammates scared me,” Nyongo said. “We were the same age. We grew up together and were raised in a similar way. It hurt me and thinking about it still hurts.

“It was a wake-up call to not fall into the traps all over Khayelitsha where it’s easy to join a gang or start doing drugs because there are few opportunities to succeed there. I knew that football was my way out. I had to make the most of it.”

AmaZulu legend, and owner of Magic FC, George Dearnaley gave him the passport out of Khayelitsha. Dearnaley recommended him to Usuthu. It took two trial stints for the then scrawny centreback to impress and sign his first professional contract.

“Playing at home also has its challenges, which is why I was motivated to try and be a success away,” Nyongo said. “Your parents start to take you seriously when you are playing away because they see that you are moving up. But when you are home, they don’t see that.

“People around you might also start to get jealous when they see that you’re playing at a higher level. They think that you have money and they might hurt you. I wanted to be away from all of that. I also wanted to step out of my comfort zone.”

Nyongo made a huge jump from the second division to the Premier Division where AmaZulu were still campaigning when they signed him. He played his first 90 minutes against a title-chasing Bidvest Wits side in March last year. Usuthu won that game 3-1 but they still went down to the first division.

Nyongo has settled well in Durban. Going down with Usuthu when they were relegated was a no-brainer for him after the club launched his professional career.

After their good start this season, he is confident that he can captain them to their return to the big league. Usuthu suffered their first defeat of this campaign on Sunday at Princess Magogo Stadium against FC Cape Town.

That defeat sees them sit in second place, three points behind first-placed Thanda Royal Zulu, with 10 points after five games.

“I was shocked when they elected me to captain the team, especially with the experienced players that we have,” Nyongo said.

“I am learning a lot from them because they have seen and done it all. I think that with the group of players we have, we can gain promotion to the PSL. This is a tough league that is all about hard work.

“We have a group of hard working players who can help us reach our goal.”

The Star

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