In the mid-80s Faried de Goede, formerly from Kensington and now residing in Northpine, centre-back of the original Cape Town Spurs and Hellenic, was a big name in the soccer fraternity.
He is semi-paralyzed on his left side after a shot to his head while playing for the semi-professional team First National Rangers in 2011.
He suffered a stroke and brain haemorrhage and every day is an uphill battle.
De Goede is battling to make ends meet and is dependent on his neighbours and friends to care for him.
“In Kensington, I started playing soccer for Luton Rovers as a 12-year-old. Two years later, at age 14 I joined Garden Village’s u-14 team before I joined Norway Parks as a 17-year-old. I enjoyed my junior soccer days but as a 21-year-old Cape Town Spurs signed me to play professional soccer and was given the captain’s armband. Hellenic wanted to buy me and in 1987 they bought me from Cape Town Spurs after I’ve been playing at Spurs for five years,” he says.
His teammates at Hellenic were Mark Williams, Gavin Hunt and Taswald Human.
“The highlight in my soccer career was not my call-up to sit on the bench for Bafana Bafana but when I was the Man of the Match against Kaizer Chiefs at Ellis Park and I received a cheque for R5 000. That was also the match where the late Reggie Jantjies scored and we played in front of a crowd of approximately 2 000 spectators.
“I played in a time when apartheid was rife and we experienced a lot of problems with the mixed team of Hellenic, consisting of whites and coloured players. George Hadjidakis, the owner of Hellenic, always believed that we were the best combinations in the Professional Soccer League, now known as the Premier Soccer League. Our downfall as a team was that we could not cross the final hurdle, and always fell short, whether it was in a quarter or semi-final,” De Goede says.
Kaizer Chiefs were the pacesetters in the 80s and in 1985 they won every trophy.
“Locally, I admired Teenage Dladla, Ace Ntsoelengoe and Ace Khuse of Chiefs. All the years I was a Liverpool fan and admired John Barnes, but am now an Arsenal supporter.
“In 2011, my soccer career came to an end after a kick to my head. It was a freak accident that ended my career. I was part of the wall in the box to prevent a goal from being scored when the shot hit my head. I received medical attention on the field, but in the evening I felt my head and body were not functioning properly. I was admitted to hospital and back in Cape Town I was in Karl Bremer Hospital for three months and had to learn how to walk and use my left hand,” he says.
He could not afford a physiotherapist and was helped by the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
He is now mobile but has given up his football coaching ambitions.
On a question about how Bafana Bafana can become a force in the world, he says the selection of players should change.
“As a selector, only the best players should start. Currently, Bafana consists of mostly black players from clubs like Chiefs, Pirates and Sundowns. Where are the coloureds and other white players in the country who are on par or better than the current crop? Ex-players should also be involved in selecting Bafana, I feel the team is too black and not representative of the talent we have in our country,” De Goede says.
If you would like to assist him, call 021 981 3468.
