Fransman Looking To Reward Bloem Celtic With
Trophies
Bevan Fransman recently reunited with Ernst
Middendorp when he traded Supersport United for Bloemfontein Celtic. The Bafana
Bafana international spent time with the German in his early days at Kaizer
Chiefs, and knows him well. Having spent time at a higher level of the game in
Europe, he explains his move to Siwelele. He also discusses the ups and downs
of his football career.
Personal Information
Full names: Bevan Fransman
Date of birth: 31 October
Place of birth: Cape town
Position: Central defender
Jersey no: TBA
Club: Bloemfontein Celtic
Previous Clubs: FC Fortune, Mouscron (Belgium), Kaizer Chiefs, Moroka Swallows, Maccabi Netanya, Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israel), SuperSport United
Honours: 2011& 2012 Israel state cup (both with Hapoel), 2012/13 Nedbank cup winner with SSU, 19 caps with Bafana bafana
Hi Bevan, you arrived on the PSL scene in 2003 at
Chiefs as a defender with a bright future predicted. Having tasted UEFA
Champions league football during your time in Europe, do you ever look back and
wonder about what greater heights you might have achieved in your career?
You always want more as a player. I was always on
the cusp of getting a good move in Europe. It`s just that things didn`t work
out because clubs can get greedy. At Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Netanya, big
deals were on the cards, but they fell through. There was a big club from
Denmark interested in me and but the club went back on its word. You need a little
bit of luck in football. Look, I had four years of European football and that
was great.
Celtic coach, Ernst Middendorp, knows you from
your time together at Chiefs in 2006. Though you never played much for him back
then, he presumably saw enough of you to bring to Siwelele.
At the time at Chiefs, I`m firmly honest with
myself, I was 18 or 19. To get into that first team filled with local stars was
hard. I accepted my situation at the time. I knew what I was getting myself
into when I joined them. I mean there was Fabian McCarthy, Patrick Mabedi,
David Kannermeyer, Cyril Nzama and Simphiwe Mkhonza. I was under no illusion
that I was going to go to Chiefs and jump into the starting eleven. At Chiefs
sometimes you play two good games and the third game you find yourself on the
bench. In my last season, when Ernst came along, I made something like four
appearances the whole season. I wasn`t disgruntled though I didn`t make any
excuses.
It`s a funny thing because in my next year at
Moroka Swallows, I was a regular. It was the time when Ernst moved back to the
Bundesliga with Arminia Bielefld. He took Siyabonga Nkosi and Rowen Fernandez
with him. He also came to see me and he said I had improved massively with
Swallows. A move to the Bundesliga wasn`t far away for me at that time.
The strength of your form won you a move to
Europe with Maccabi and then Hapoel in Israel. It was there where you memorably
played a part in beating a super-star laden Benfica team 3-0 in the Champions
league.
Ja, they had a decent side. They had Javier
Saviola, Fabio Coentrao, David Luiz, Maxi Pereria and Pablo Aimar. That was a
big result. We even played French giants, Lyon and were nearly the first side
to beat them at home in two years.
Okay…let`s get into why you left SuperSport
United for Celtic. In 2013/14, you were appointed Mantsatsatsa captain. Then,
at the end of the campaign, you were told you`re not wanted because the club
wanted to focus on using younger players. What did you think about that?
I thought to myself, What is happening here? But
this is the evolution of football and you just have to accept it. I was young
once and someone had to give way for me to get into the line-up.
Last season Gavin Hunt said in the media that
SuperSport had absolutely no shape in terms of what he saw when Wits played
them. What was your assessment of Cavin Johnson`s style of football?
I will admit that with Gavin we had a more
disciplined structure tactically. Everyone knows that Cavin enjoys it when the
team is playing good football. At the same time you open yourself up. Spain is
one example-they can pass that ball to death, but once they lose it you can
catch them on the break. When you play open football, that`s what you live
with.
Let`s talk about Celtic and their passionate
fans. How much of a role did that support base play in your decision to join
Siwelele?
I sat down with my agent and I pointed out that
one of the strangest things in South African football is playing in empty
stadiums. I mean In Israel we had 12 000 season ticket holders, you can even
play an away game against a small team, and fans will be there in their odd
thousands. You play away in South Africa, barring at Chiefs and Pirates, you
wouldn`t even know it.
Do you think the fans stay away because the
quality of football of the smaller teams is just poor?
I just don`t think in South Africa we have that
supporter culture, apart from Chiefs and Bucs. It`s most bizarre where you play
in Durban, Amazulu and Chiefs will have more fans there.
Celtic seems to somewhat break that pattern.
My first relocation of Celtic supporters was when
I was playing for Chiefs against Siwelele. They sold the entire stand behind
one of the goals at FNB stadium, and they were new to the PSL. The support is
fantastic and they sing throughout the game.
As a Celtic player how much do you want to reward
the green and white faithful for the wonderful support they provide?
I think it`s about time we have a proper go at
trying to win the league title. There`s potential in the side, that`s another
one of the reasons why I came here. It`s organized here and this is a place
where I think the team can go forward.
Bevan, thank you very much for your time.
Thanks a lot.