Former England goalkeeper David James has recalled the meeting with late Mzansi statesman Nelson Mandela back in 2003, saying he was “a nice guy”.
The England football team toured to Mzansi in 2003 where they were invited to play in the annual Nelson Mandela Challenge at Kings Park Stadium in Durban.
The England side, under Sven-Goran Eriksen, with James in goals, came to South Africa and the starting line-up was a back-four of Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Gareth Southgate and Danny Mills.
In the midfield, Paul Scholes was paired with Steven Gerrard in the double-six and David Beckham, who was the skipper, and Trevor Sinclair were wingers in the 4-4-2 formation.
Up top, two former Liverpool forwards Emile Heskey and Michael Owen were leading the attack, as England beat Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba’s boys 2-1.
The visitors were the first to get going as Beckham’s vicious free-kick could not be cleared by Lucas Radebe, Aaron Mokoena, Mbuleo Mabizela and Thabang Molefe – and Southgate was left unmarked at the back post to open the scoring in the first minute to beat Brian Baloyi in goals.
But Benni McCarthy, after Danny Mills was penalised for handling the ball in the box, slotted the equaliser from the penalty spot in the 18th minute.
England, who was seen as favourite for the 2004 Euros because of the so-called golden generation, won the match in the 64th minute after Frank Lampard’s shot was parried in the path of Heskey, who picked up pieces.
But the meeting with the late Tata Madiba left a lasting impression on James, who was also part of the England squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
“I’ve actually written about Nelson Mandela in my history school exam,” said James through TalkSPORT.
“He was a nice guy, who did some good stuff… I failed [that exam] (laughs). Nelson Mandela was such a legend.”
But the tour will never be forgotten as Beckham was pictured holding the number 03 shirt with Marina spotting his cornrows, with the former England skipper having later confessed that he regretted having that hairdo and meeting the iconic man.
But James revealed Madiba was the one who was looking forward to seeing Beckham.
“Nelson was very eager to see David because, naturally, because David is such a wonderful guy as well,” said James.
