Lamola joins Kaizer Chiefs – On This Day
A handshake from the legendary Ewert ‘The Lip’ Nene on this day, 5 May, back in 1971, sealed the signing by Kaizer Chiefs of the great Zacharia Vusi ‘Computer’ Lamola, who would become one of the club’s most revered figures.
The talented midfielder was playing for Orlando Preston Brothers, which he had joined five years earlier as a 16-year-old.
Nene was told by some friends that there was an exciting footballer at Preston Brothers or, as Lamola jokes, “who was capable of playing”.
Chiefs’ manager never missed out on recruiting young talent and ‘Computer’, so nicknamed for his footballing brain, soon got a visit from Nene at his home in Orlando East. They spoke and got close to an agreement.
However, another meeting had to follow to include representatives of Preston Brothers and Lamola’s parents. That’s when the deal was concluded, although, as was normal in those days, nothing was written on paper and a verbal agreement was regarded as a contract.
Lamola was born on 19 March 1950 and grew up in George Goch. At the age of 10, he saw a match of Germiston City, featuring Albert ‘Hurry Hurry’ Johanneson.
The left winger made a tremendous impression on the youngster. “What I saw was overwhelming,” ‘Computer’ reflects. “It was the first and last time I saw him play, but the impact was so strong that I named myself after him, ‘Hurry Hurry’.
Johanneson joined English side Leeds United in 1961 to eventually become the first black South African to play in an FA Cup final, which took place in 1965.
Other nicknames for Lamola, besides ‘Computer’ and ‘Hurry Hurry’, included ‘General’ and ‘Maria Maria’.
One of the attacking midfielder’s best matches was against Orlando Pirates in the Champion of Champions competition on 12 February 1972.
Lamola was left on the bench by coach Thomas ‘Zero’ Johnson, much to the midfielder’s frustration. The Buccaneers were the better side in the first half and were 2-0 up at half-time.
Shortly after the start, Patrick ‘Ace’ Ntsoelengoe was replaced due to injury and Lamola set the scene alight with a magnificent performance, pulling the strings in midfield and providing assists for others to find the back of the net. The score was 2-2 after 90 minutes of play and extra time was needed to decide the outcome.
Lamola was simply unstoppable amidst the loud cheers of the enthusiastic Amakhosi faithful. Some more assists from ‘Computer’ helped Chiefs to an amazing 7-3 win.
“I was never left on the bench again,” Lamola looks back on the match, laughing loudly.
He left the Glamour Boys in 1979 and later became a pastor. He established his own church three year ago called “By His Might Ministry”, in Diepkloof, Zone 1. The church has a good working relationship with Rhema Church, where the Chiefs legend worked for a long time.
Queried on his salary offered on 5 May 1971, Lamola smiles, before reacting: “I got about R14 per week. Times change… However, we got more money when we played friendlies. That’s why we often played a league game on Saturday, followed by a friendly the following day.”
