In this edition of Negotiating Behind The Scenes, KickOff catches a glimpse into how former striker Gerald Stober moved to Orlando Pirates as he narrates in incredible detail how his meeting with club chairman Dr. Irvin Khoza went.
Stober says he will never forget how overwhelmed he was when he signed for the Soweto giants from Hellenic.
Who I signed for?
"I signed for Orlando Pirates. We are talking as far back as 30 years ago.
"I think I was more overwhelmed than excited. Honestly, I just wanted to play football. I was happy where I was at Hellenic. To me, it was a surprise, you know, that Pirates made an offer.
"It probably happened at a good time in my soccer career. Everything was moving so fast."
How did you find out?
"Those days, we never had cellphones, so on my answering machine there were messages from the late Orlando Pirates manager Lawrence Ngubane and also from Irvin Khoza.
"They had already agreed with Hellenic, so it was personal terms that needed to be discussed. To be honest, I didn't care what they were going to pay me, I was just happy it was Pirates [laughs]."
Where did you meet?
"I remember it was a Monday, I flew to Jo'burg. I met Irvin Khoza at the OR Tambo International Airport, we had breakfast, I signed some papers and flew back to Cape Town."
Who was there?
"It was only me and Irvin Khoza. He said, 'Pleased to meet you, I'm Irvin Khoza, and welcome to Orlando Pirates'. He is a good man."
What surprised you?
"The signing-on fee. I think it was R100 000 in total. I signed for three years."
Did you get what you wanted?
"We didn't negotiate. They just told me a number, and I said okay."
Did you see out the contract?
"I signed for three years and I left on my third year. I had an injury, came back, played, and because I had another job as well, I had to come back to Cape Town because there was some restructuring in the company I worked for, which was Southern Life at the time."
What you would change?
"Nothing. Like I said, I would have played for free at Pirates. The financial rewards weren't a major drive for me."