By Chris Totobela
We are closing off our Heritage Month feature with one of the best footballers Makhanda has ever produced.
Like many before him, Mvuyisi Plaatjie, better known as Vicky in football circles, started playing football at a very young age.
He went on to make his senior team debut for XI Attackers in 1993, coming on as a substitute.
His peers and former teammates at junior level, Sabelo “Piye” Melitafa and Mazizi “Mkwena” Nombiba, were already part of the senior team, he recalled. “I was a young boy when I was thrown into the deep end by Attackers, but I delivered.”
Attackers was blessed with a myriad of talent at the time and it was not easy to break into the starting line-up, Plaatjie remembered. “Coming on as a substitute ahead of some of their good players was a step in the right direction for me.”
He was also a member of the all-conquering Ntsika Secondary School’s football team that had a top squad from different local clubs. “That is where I really enjoyed my football,” he said.
In 2001, Plaatjie was scouted for the Eastern Cape team while representing the Albany District.
As a significant step up in his career in 2002, he joined the East London-based Tornado FC which played in the then Vodacom League. He continued to make a name for himself at Tornado and ended up captaining the side. “At first it was not easy for me as I was playing at a higher level against more advanced and experienced players, but it did not take me long to adapt. I got used to the standard and playing tough games week in and week out.”
In 2004, the team qualified to represent the province in the Absa Cup which also included professional teams. Plaatjie fondly recalls that in the last 16 stage, his side played against Moroka Swallows, one of the biggest professional football teams in South Africa.
Despite losing to the Dube Birds, as Swallows was affectionately known, it was a proud moment for Tornado FC and the young Makhanda footballer.
Swallows went on to win the Absa Cup.
The following year, Tornado stumbled at the same stage as they were booted out of the Absa Cup by eventual winners Supersport United. To this day, Plaatjie is proud of his team’s efforts. “Coming up against top and experienced players was not easy but we gave a very good account of ourselves. Edzai Kasanayo, Lungisani Ndlela, Tico-Tico Bucuane, Dikgang Mabalane and many more, were some of the players I came up against.”
Returning to Makhanda in 2010, he rejoined his childhood team XI Attackers as player and manager and helped the team gain promotion to the regional league after three unsuccessful attempts.
He shared his views on the current state of local football. “The standard of football in Makhanda has dropped dismally compared to our time. We have four teams in the regional league as we speak and that is not good for our football as it means that getting to the regional stage is much easier, which was not the case during our time.”
He believes the local football association is led by the right people, but in the wrong way. “Just last weekend they hosted a sponsored heritage tournament with only 15 clubs taking part, while we have more than 30 clubs in Makhanda. Why make it a knockout instead of round-robin, which would have given many clubs a good pre-season? Why do you ask for R600 as the affiliation fee for a knockout tournament, knowing exactly that teams will soon be required to pay an affiliation fee of R750?”
He said local clubs are run by individuals who are responsible for paying these funds. “My advice to them is that they must invite people who have experience in administration and in many other aspects of football to help them take our football forward. We are all concerned. We want to see our football back to where it was before.”
Plaatjie is currently working with other football legends on different projects, hoping to make a difference, not just in football, but in the entire community.
He said further details would be provided soon. He thanked coaches, teammates and XI Attackers for giving him an opportunity to showcase his talent, and his family for their continued support.
