“I Was Retrenched”: Nodada Opens Up On Emotional Nedbank Cup Triumph After Career Low
Durban City midfielder Thabo Nodada says the emotions he felt after the club won the Nedbank Cup were rooted in the difficult journey he endured over the past 12 months, having been relegated and subsequently retrenched by Cape Town City.
Nodada is an experienced campaigner who has featured in four cup finals, winning two and losing the other two.
He helped Cape Town City win the Telkom Knockout in the club’s debut season under Eric Tinkler, just 144 days after the club was formed following the purchase of Mpumalanga Black Aces ahead of the 2016/17 campaign.
In the 2017/18 season, with Benni McCarthy having replaced Tinkler, City reached the MTN8 final but lost to Tinkler’s SuperSport United at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
However, City were not denied the following season when they once again faced SuperSport United in the MTN8 final at the same venue.
Nodada scored the winning penalty as McCarthy secured his first trophy as a coach in the PSL.
The fourth final came in the 2021/22 MTN8, where City lost to Rulani Mokwena’s Mamelodi Sundowns in a penalty shootout after sudden death at the Durban venue.
But when Cape Town City were relegated at the end of last season, much of what Nodada had achieved with the club felt undone. Club management informed him they could not retain him because of the financial constraints of competing in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
While searching for a new club, former City coach Gavin Hunt approached him about joining Durban City, who had earned promotion the previous season.
But what happened when Durban City won the Nedbank Cup against TS Galaxy at Peter Mokaba Stadium on 2 May left Nodada in tears because of what he went through.
“Looking at the journey — and when I say I look at the journey, I look 12 months prior — there were so many questions I asked myself about my ability and my career. I felt like I was falling off,” said Nodada during Durban City’s Nedbank Cup parade on Wednesday.
“To come home in a way that I had never expected in my life… I always thought there would be a huge bidding war for a boy who left KZN at 13 years old and came back to Durban, with teams fighting for his signature.
“I came home as a result of being retrenched [by Cape Town City]. I got relegated one day, and the next day I went into a meeting and was told: ‘We can’t afford your salary.’
“That’s why I came home. There was a lot of doubt about returning home — where would I go, would I stay in KZN, would I move elsewhere?
“Luckily, I got to be here. During the season we were firing coaches, and for all of that to end with a Nedbank Cup title and a gold medal, I could never have scripted it.
“I was overcome with emotion, thinking about how much it took to get here. Besides the effort, there was also the pain I had to go through to achieve something that hasn’t been done in 17 years.
“If you ask me now whether I would go through it all again just to experience this feeling, I would. The final was one or two weeks ago, and we are still celebrating.”
Interestingly, the player who effectively relegated Nodada via the PSL promotion/relegation playoffs is now his teammate at Durban City — Letsie Koapeng, with whom he previously played and won a trophy at Cape Town City. The pair have known each other for many years.
“Getting relegated was the lowest moment,” said Nodada.
“You have to understand, I was the first player to arrive at Cape Town City — the very first player to get off the plane and be introduced to the city by the chairman [John Comitis].
“To then become the last remaining player and eventually see the team go down after so much history, that was the lowest moment.
“I knew what was coming next. I went through quite a bit, and there was no way I was going to stay after everything that happened.
“But the lowest point in my career was when the referee blew the final whistle at Orbit College and we were relegated. To make matters worse, the guy who scored the goal that knocked us out is here with me now.
“I met Letsie when he was 16 years old, before I was even a professional footballer. A close friend of mine comes from the same neighbourhood as him, and that’s how we became friends.
“I became close to Letsie long before football became my life. Then, 11 or 12 years later, he scored the goal that relegated me.
“Now, this year, he and I are making history together in KZN. You can’t script that.”
