Never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine that his mischievous acts of stone-throwing as a child would one day benefit him in football.
It’s probably one of those freakish anecdotes that one has to hear from the horse’s mouth… Fast forward some years to the present and the reality is that Vasco da Gama’s Phillipdee Johnson (pictured) is every coach’s dream and every opposition’s nightmare due to the havoc he causes on the pitch with his super-long throw-ins -almost 50 meters which is half of a pitch.
According to Johnson this skill was discovered while playing Rebel football.
“I was probably so 12, 13 years old when we played Sunday league football on a small pitch and that is where I really started to take note when I threw the ball from the one goalpost to the other,” Johnson told No Bones with Jones.
“Since then I focussed a lot on the throw-inns, to further develop and perfect it as it became a benefit for the team you know. I was happy that I could contribute more, you know,” he added.
Beside Johnson’s ‘secret weapon’, he would probably walk into any team solely due to his contribution on the field as a defensive figure – just like his idol Jaap Stam, rock-solid, calm and unflushed!
Johnson, a proper and honest player, started his career as 12-year-old with Bellville United and has enjoyed his football career for nearly two decades -despite not getting that proverbial lucky break.
He has at least achieved some when they won promotion to the Third Division with both Bellstar United as well as Trinitarians a couple of seasons ago including winning the Nedbank Cup Regional title with the latter.
The 31-year-old subsequently moved to Bellville City where he eventually ended up at Vasco where is a popular figure.
Ironically, Johnson also tasted success with Vasco – who bought the Third Division status from Bellstar a couple of seasons ago – when they won promotion to the ABC Motsepe League recently.
“I joined Vasco’s LFA team and then the coaches asked me to stay for the Third Division side and then we went on to win the league and promotion with and the rest is history,” the father of two added.
The Belhar-born Johnson will surely be a menace in the second Division with his long throws and it will be interesting to see how players and coaches in a more structured and disciplined league fare.
“It’s another challenge and one that we as Vasco are looking forward to,” Johnson further explained. “We have worked hard for it and now we can Forca Vasco!” Johnson concluded.
