I was overawed during my first encounter with Bra Alex “Goldfingers” Shakoane. It was at a PSL function in 2001, when his tall figure loomed large in front of me. Like bell-bottoms and Afros, his greasy perm was gone.
His new chiskop was spick-and-span and shining brightly while the gold-rings were flashing about in the room – the man was as real as I had seen him on TV when I was a little kid in the late 1980s and 1990s.
But I was defeated by his overwhelming smile when I introduced myself and when he greeted me. I was not expecting this giant of SA football to be so kind. He asked me where I was from…I told him I was from Daveyton and a loud laughter bellowed across the hall. “Another moegoe from the East Rand, you guys love journalism, neh.”
I was stuttering when I asked him for his numbers, in case I wanted to do a story on Sundowns. “You can call me anytime,” he said to me as he was making fun of PSL official Prof Ronnie Schloss’ crimplene suit and Grasshoppers shoes. You see, Alex was a sharp dresser who attracted a lot of attention. I did not want him to forget me and made sure I called him the following day. My day was made when he remembered me and said mfana wa ko Daveyton, hoezit? The rest, as they say in the movies, is history.
The flamboyant Shakoane was Mr Sundowns personified and the news of his passing has not only shocked the Masandawana family, but has also touched the entire SA diski fraternity. He is reported to have died after a short illness. Shakoane has been at the club for over 40 years and has seen various Sundowns owners come and ago.
In the early 2000s, Sundowns were playing in the CAF Champions League in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Shakoane had his gold rings and necklaces all polished and shining and ready to show the Congolese how we dress up in SA – but he was duly warned about travelling to the Congo with all that glittering jewellery. They told him that they could even cut off his hands if they wanted to rob him of the rings – it was for the first time I saw his hands and fingers without any gold.
He played a father figure to most of us youngsters who needed guidance and mentorship. He was always available for interviews and for that odd “scoop” once in a while. Even though he would get angry and disappointed at some reporters, he was never one to take things personally.
Harris “TV4” Choeu is now a coach and technical director and he found Shakoane at Sundowns when they signed the trailblazing playmaker from Witbank Black Aces in 1987, and he has fond memories about Shakoane. “When I signed for Sundowns, my good friend Alex was already there as the club’s public relations officer and when I left many years later, he was still there – even to this day he never left Sundowns,” Choeu opened up to Sunday World.
“We forged a good relationship, and he survived the ownership from Zola Mahobe to Abe Krok’s family. He was even still there when Angelo Tsichlas and his wife Natasha took over from the Krok brothers. He even ushered Patrice Motsepe in when he bought the club.
“You could not differentiate between Sundowns and Alex, they were inseparable. Alex and the club shared the most difficult times and also the most wonderful times when they began dominating SA football.
“Last time I saw him was in July during the off-season. He was with the Sundowns team in Polokwane preparing for the start of the season. Then I heard the sad news this year that he was very sick and bed-ridden. I want to pass a message of condolences to his family. I hope they will recover from this loss and they must put hope into God, because he is the one who has a plan for all of us. “Robala ka kgotso mogotsi wa ka.”
Recently we were spending a lot of time with Alex at the Sundowns press conferences in Chloorkop. The man had not lost his spark, his charm and most notably the warmth.
He never looked sick or perturbed. His broad smile enveloped everything and absorbed all the discomfort and pain he was feeling – that was Bra Alex for you. Rest In Peace Grootman!
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