Ephraim Matsilela Sono OIS (tenderly known as Jomo Sono and in some cases additionally called the "Dark Prince of South African Soccer" and "Bra J" "Mjomana" ) (brought into the world 17 July 1955) is a South African soccer club proprietor and mentor and was likewise a star soccer player. Sono was conceived in Soweto. The two his grandparents were conceived in the then Northern Transvaal at Valdezia town outside Makhado in Limpopo Province.
Early life and soccer player
Sono was conceived in Queenstown, Eastern Cape. When he was eight years of age, his dad Eric Bhamuza Sono, who was a midfielder for the Orlando Pirates football crew in the mid 1960s, kicked the bucket because of an auto accident. Before long, his mom deserted him.[2] Consequently, Sono was left being taken care of by his weak grandparents; as they were exceptionally poor, he needed to depend on moving apples and peanuts at soccer matches and train stations to dress himself, purchase sustenance for his grandparents and pay school charges.Sono's soccer vocation had a surprising start; amid a match that he went to one of the Orlando Pirates' ordinary players was missing and Sono was asked for to remain in for him. He before long picked up popularity for his inside and out capacity, spilling and exact passing abilities. It was amid this time he was given the epithet of Jomo (which signifies "consuming lance") by an Orlando Pirates fan, who found in him indistinguishable authority characteristics from those of Jomo Kenyatta, the then leader of Kenya.
After he had achieved everything that he embarked to do at Orlando Pirates, Sono went to the United States of America, where, in 1977, he played for the New York Cosmos, where one of his colleagues was the amazing player Pelé. In 1978, he moved to the Colorado Caribous. Toward the finish of the period, the Caribous moved to wind up the Atlanta Chiefs where Sono played with another South African soccer star of the time, [Patrick "Expert" Ntsoelengoe]. Sono finished his spell in North America playing for the Toronto Blizzard, playing three summers, 1980 through 1982.
Sono additionally instructed and gave shows at Clemson University Soccer Camp for adolescents.
Club proprietor and mentor
After his soccer profession in the USA finished, Sono came back to South Africa, where he acquired the Highlands Park club in Johannesburg in 1982, renaming it Jomo Cosmos out of appreciation for his old group.Under his possession, the club proceeded to accomplish a few victories: it won the National Soccer League in 1987, the Bobsave Super Bowl in 1990, the Cola Cup in 2002 and the Super Eight out of 2003.
Sono has likewise played a main job in finding and growing new football ability, particularly from country regions. A portion of the players whom Sono enrolled and after that proceeded to play for the South African national group and European clubs incorporate Philemon Masinga, Helman Mkhalele, Sizwe Motaung and Mark Fish. In fact, his volunteers framed the center of the South African squad that won the 1996 African Nations Cup; Sono was additionally a specialized counsel to the group's head mentor Clive Barker amid the competition.
In 1998, Sono was delegated as guardian mentor of the Bafana just before the African Nations Cup competition in Burkina Faso in the spot of Clive Barker, who had been sacked just before the occasion. Under Sono, the group achieved the last of the competition, where they lost to Egypt. Taking the brief span that he needed to get ready with the group into record, it was viewed as a wonderful accomplishment.
After a baffling execution by the South African national squad amid the 2002 African Nations Cup in Mali, Sono was again delegated a specialized chief to the group. In any case, the head mentor of the group around then, Carlos Queiróz, felt that his position was being undermined by this arrangement and surrendered. Sono was again designated as guardian mentor, this time for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
Amid the World Cup, the South African squad did not advance past the first round; nonetheless, they scored five objectives and accomplished one win, one draw and a 3– 2 misfortune against pre-competition top choices Spain. The South African commander, Lucas Radebe, acknowledged Sono for a great part of the group's execution, saying that he had ingrained a decent soul inside the group and that he had guaranteed a positive air among the squad.[3]
Sono is the longest-serving mentor in the South African Premier League and furthermore sits on the leading body of the Premier Soccer League. He has additionally developed a notoriety for being a fruitful specialist; notwithstanding making a significant benefit by creating players and pitching them to European groups, he likewise claims various organizations and is a director of various organizations. On 22 October 2009 it was declared that he had come back toward the South African Football Association, and after one day on 23 October 2009 he accepted the position as Technical Director.
Respects
Sono was casted a ballot 49th in the Top 100 Great South Africans in 2004.
In December 2016, Sono got two doctorates from the University of London and the University of Dubai for his commitment to football and business. After accepting the two doctorates he stated: "To me this is the best accomplishment. Individuals state it's from outside [the doctorates], I don't assume it's from outside. I believe it's from the world in light of the fact that the University of London is one of the greatest and the region college is one of the biggest."
Individual life
He is hitched and has four youngsters, including the South Africa national football crew part Bamuza Sono,[6] and his second child Matsilela Junior (*22 June 1992) plays in the save of Jomo Cosmos.
