Call it what you like: A blast from the past, a trip down memory lane…
One thing is for sure, those attending Greenwood Athletic’s ‘Legends Evening’ on Friday (23 February) are surely in for a treat with what promises to be an event for the books as there’s no school like old school.
Former club greats, coaches and administrators, along with the club’s current Executive Committee will come together for an evening of socialising and reliving the past at the Floreat Primary School hall – before watching Greenwood’s Hollywoodbets Third Division encounter against Premier United at (19:30) Solo Street.
Greenwood’s chairman Noel Isaacs explained: “The club celebrates its 45th anniversary next year and this gathering is aimed at getting the club legends together to share laughs, stories and to reminisce about their playing days in preparation for the 45th anniversary celebration.
“I think it can also serve as a platform for our current generation to gain some knowledge and insight on the players that laid the foundation and to get the club where it is today,” Isaacs added.
Club greats and household names of the 80s and 90s, such as Clive October, Clive du Plessis, Faiek Petersen, Bevan Bailey, Timmy Solomons, Gavin du Plessis, Adrian Daniels, Sydney Mentor, Donny Reid, Warren Lotters, to name but a few, will be in attendance to share their anecdotes with the up and coming.
The club was founded in 1980 in Albertus Court in Retreat and founding members include Ivan Williams, the inaugural Secretary, the Du Plessis brothers, Clive and Melvin, the Petersen twins, Faiek and Fakier and Robin Poggenpoel.
In the 1980s the club competed in WPFBs Super League with great teams like Battswood, Sea Point Swifts, Clarewood and Matroosfontein. In 1995 Greenwood was included in the Vodacom League (now ABC Motsepe).
“The best position the club ended in the Vodacom League was 2nd to Milano in 1996 and Milano then qualified for the First Division Coastal Region. Luminary coach Moey Carolus coached our Vodacom team in 1996 and 1996.
“Another connection we have to the great Battswood team of the 1980s, is Ian Southgate who coached us in the first year of football unity when we played in the unified Super League against the likes of Bellville City, Clyde Pinelands, Tramway etc,” Isaacs recalls.
It is no secret that the Retreat-based outfit has always produced talented youth players who went on to achieve great things – thanks to the great support as well – young and old!
The first player from the club to play in Europe is Kurt Abrahams who played in Belgium for a few years and currently plays in the Serbian Super League.
“He got a Bafana call-up in 2020 but was unable to honour the call-up due to Covid19 situation at his club in Belgium,” Isaacs stated. “David Tango, the record goal scorer in the Vodacom League, hails from our club and Dillon Solomons, who currently plays for Kaizer Chiefs, is also a product of our club. He is the son of former striker of the 1980s, Timmy Solomons.”
In 2004, Greenwood sold its then Vodacom franchise and focussed on union football at their district.
“We decided that we again needed the excitement of a higher league and won the Third Division playoffs in 2016 and subsequently qualified for the Third Division in the 2017 season where we ended second behind Rangers who went on to win promotion. We’ve come close a few times but the success in this league still eludes us and it’s something we are striving towards.
“Then there is also the Coke Cup which still eludes us. We have reached the semi-finals on three occasions, the first being in 1989. The last senior title we won was in 2018 when we won the Nedbank Regional competition and narrowly lost to The Magic who qualified for the Nedbank last 32 against Kaizer Chiefs.”
Greenwood is one of the stand-out amateur clubs with a thriving youth section. The club is large in numbers with a total of 17 teams and growing.
The ‘Green Machine’ as they are affectionately known, backs up the quantity with quality as they are bred with a competitive spirit from a young age.
This proof is in the pudding with their abundance of success in various youth tournaments – the recent being the Dennis Goldberg u19, the Morne Barnes Memorial Cup and the Wynberg St. Johns u.10 tournament – the latter going unbeaten and without conceding a goal which is not too shabby at all.
“Although we didn’t qualify for Bayhill this year, we are one of the amateur clubs that has qualified for most Bayhill tournaments,” Isaacs said. “The size and strength of the club is attributed to the legends – both the administrators and the players which is why our function is of paramount importance to galvanise and rekindle our relationships between our pioneers and the future generation,” Isaacs concluded.
