Please, please, please, solve it now!
When speaking about Bloemfontein Celtic, Patrick Tignyemb does so with an unmistakable passion. Who would blame him, for he has spent more than a decade at the club? Some days have been good, others not so much. It’s not all been a bed of roses in the City of Roses. This season, which is being rounded off this weekend, has particularly been challenging, especially pertaining to the relationship between the club’s management and fans. Tignyemb, as a senior player, has had to keep his wits about him and maintain his sanity in the midst of it all. How has he managed to do that? Most importantly, what are the real issues besieging the club? Soccer Laduma’s Beaver Nazo hears from the 33-year-old goalkeeper.
Beaver Nazo: Patrick, with only one round of games left, are you happy with your overall performances this season?
Patrick Tignyemb: I’m good, man, I’m satisfied. I am very happy because it’s not easy to be the one to protect the team from conceding goals. I have collected some clean sheets as well.
BN: Word on the streets is that SuperSport United are eyeing your services and that you were supposed to sign for them in the January transfer window.
PT: (Cuts in) I never received anything from SuperSport. Even my agent never brought anything to the table for me. Even my teammates were telling me, “Hey, Patrick, you’re leaving us now.” I was like, “But, guys, where am I going?” I never spoke to anyone at SuperSport. There will always be rumours during the transfer window.
BN: You also earned a call-up to the Cameroon squad for their last AFCON qualifier against Comoros in March…
PT: I turned them down because I decided to end my international career. I will not play for Cameroon ever again, sorry!
BN: Why?
PT: After the 2010 FIFA World Cup here in South Africa, I got a call-up to Cameroon, but I couldn’t go because my passport had expired and I was busy sorting it out. There was a camp in Germany, but I couldn’t go. The CEO of Blefontenien Celtic, Khumbulani Konco, called them and told them of my passport issues. They said I was lying. I didn’t go because I wasn’t called up for the World Cup squad in 2010. I was very angry about that. I even took a picture of it and sent it to them. What upset me the most was the fact that they even went to newspapers in Cameroon, tarnishing my name. That’s when I said, “Ok, I will never honour a call-up ever again.” When they called me, I didn’t even tell them stories, I told them, “I am not coming!” I don’t care about the Cameroon national team anymore. What they did to me was too much. BN: Hectic stuff. PT: I couldn’t even understand why I wasn’t selected for the 2010 World Cup. I was hurt by that, but I managed to bounce back from it. Now they were selling me out to the support ers like I was bitter when I wasn’t. I was just not happy about the treatment they dished out to me. I decided right there and then that never again will I honour a call-up.
BN: Moving on to Celtic matters, you were forced to play your last two home games away from Dr. Molemela Stadium due to the pitch invasion by the club’s fans in the game against Cape Town City.
PT: The supporters are angry at the club’s management. The decision by the League was taken due to the fact that it might happen again. BN: What’s the fans’ main gripe? PT: They are not happy with how the team has been run. They are not happy that the players sometimes were not paid on time. It is very sad, man, because I am in my 11th year now here and all these years, our supporters have been nothing but very, very good to us. I sometimes lose my form, just like any other footballer, but our supporters would come to Siwelele Park (Celtic training ground) and encourage me. Whenever I looked around, I would see them. I am the oldest player in the team and I have
been here for long, so I can manage it, but there are youngsters here who come from the development and the MDC that cannot handle it like us. But we are always there for them. They need the supporters to support them. They need their management to support them. BN: Right. PT: The most important thing is that the management must fix this problem for the benefit of not only one individual but the team. You know, there’s someone like the late Ntate Petrus Molemela, who gave his life for this team. I don’t know the whole story, but he gave his life so that even in his peaceful sleep (death) he is happy, but I don’t think that is the case. If anything, he must be tossing and turning in his grave. Please, please, please, solve the problems now!
BN: That’s such a heartfelt plea, Patrick.
PT: The management must try harder to fix this because right now it’s not working. I know that we started the season very well and went seven games without a defeat. I am telling you now, if we had done things right, like communicating well from the first time this started, we would be number two on the log now. But we really need to solve these problems. When I first arrived here, it was like joining Manchester United, but now it’s totally different.
BN: How did you guys feel when your own supporters ruined your match by invading the pitch?
PT: We really felt bad. I mean, we had the game under control and Cape Town City were there for the taking. We thought we were going to win that game. We were very hurt and disappointed because we wanted to play and win the game for them.
BN: What were the supporters saying when they got onto the field?
PT: I went to them immediately when they started getting into the stadium, and there was a gogo (an old woman) who was charging forward. I tried to stop her because even the police were getting on the field and pushing the supporters away. So I said to Gogo, “Please, you are going to get hurt and might even lose your life because when they come back running, you won’t be able to run.” The police started shooting using stun grenades. I was surprised when Gogo pushed me and said to me, “Patrick, my son, leave me. This has got nothing to do with you. We love and appreciate all of you, but enough is enough.” She was very, very angry, telling me that this was too much and that they
needed change. I know Gogo, but I only know her as Gogo Lesele (Celtic granny) because she comes to Siwelele Park on a regular basis. But that day I could see that Gogo was really angry. So they said what they have been saying all along that they want Mr Tshabalala to sell the club because he has failed it, but he must sell it to a local. They don’t want the club to move from Bloemfontein.
BN: Thirteen supporters were arrested in the aftermath of those scenes. What did the club do about their arrests?
PT: I don’t know because we were training that day.
BN: Was Gogo one of the supporters arrested?
PT: I haven’t spoken to Gogo since that day, but I asked one supporter I drove past and she said Gogo was fine and that she would pass my greetings to her.
BN: Did anyone from the club attend the court hearing when the 13 supporters appeared?
PT: Like I said, I don’t know, as we were training when it was going on. BN: Supporters are clearly unhappy about Max Tshabalala. What is he saying about it? PT: Well, that’s true and it’s no secret that Celtic has been through difficult times. The boss knows that everyone in Bloemfontein is blaming him. But I spoke to the CEO recently and he explained a lot of thing to me, things that I didn’t know, like the fact that Mr Tshabalala used to own businesses and used to be financially stable. He is struggling financially now. I said the best way to deal with this issue was going to be communication. This is something that can happen to any one of us. He must sit down with everyone - supporters, players and management - and explain everything to them why this and that is like this. BN: You forgort!…Mmmm, moving on then. How did the players react and feel when, in the past, the club denied stories in the media about non- payments and late payments, when in fact it was happening to the players, despite the denials? PT: Like I said, I cannot remember such meetings taking place – maybe I have