Doctor Khumalo recalls first meeting with Teenage Dladla

Kaizer Chiefs legend Doctor Khumalo has recalled how scared he was when he first met the legendary Teenage Dladla.

In an interview with iDiski Times, Khumalo said it was difficult for him to look t Dladla into the eyes givethe stories he heard about him.

One of them is how four people died when Chiefs recruited him, saying he was scared to fail as he was sharing a dressing room with a legend of Dladla’s calibre.

The pair played together at Chiefs between 1986 and 1991 when Dladla officially retired from football.

DOCTOR KHUMALO RECALLS FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH TEENAGE DLADLA

“You know when I got Teenage Dladla’s story, I got four versions. When I looked at the very same grootman in the dressing room, it was not with the same eye and I’m scared because they said somebody died while they were going to recruit him. Here he is my teammate,” Khumalo told iDiski Times in a tribute for Siphiwe Mkhonza.

“I was scared of how he was going to receive me and how he was going to perceive me. I was scared because blood was shed for this guy to be here and here I am.

“So that is why I’m saying based on my experience, all these things propelled me to be better, propelled me to put that smile on the supporters’ faces because I’m sitting amongst the best that have done it.

“If I fail to do that, I’m not going to be recognised as a hero. I’m going to be recognised as a failure because heroes made history and then who am I, if we don’t make history?”