Name: Celta Vigo Football Club
Established : 2001
Base: Zone 3 Stadium 
Head Coach/Manager: Themba Dlamini 
Chief Executive Officer: Mandla Dlamini

Two seconds to fulltime and the mood in Santiago Bernabeu Stadium ,the home of Real Madrid CF has gone into  heightened celebrations as Real Club Celta de Vigo supporters celebrate a hard fought 1-0 win over a Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Real Madrid CF. The solitary goal of Celta Vigo courtesy of Spaniard Nolito will surely be the talk of town as its not everyday where Celta gets to beat Real, atleast not in real life as the above mentioned has come through my playing of FIFA 2015 PlayStation game.

Forget about PlayStation, and let’s get back to reality. What I am about to narrate is the tale of Celta Vigo Football Club, a club from the Evaton township established in the year 2001.

Formative years…

The brainchild of The Vaal Triangle renowned football coach Mr. Themba “Sthimbana” Dlamini, who after having dropped out (due to financial constraints) at the famed Barney Molokoane Academy, where he was coached by current Mamelodi Sundowns FC Pitso Mosimane saw it fit to found the club as a way to bring what he had learned at the academy to the township, whilst also using football as preventive measure to the social ills. Mr. Themba Dlamini also had a dream to develop future football players,  yes players who would  do one better than him and become professionals of the beautiful game. The formative years were exceptionally hard,  with no equipment nor playing kit for his newly formed Celta Vigo coupled by a sense of pessimism from the local community.

At the time football cones, posts and attire was a luxury for Celta Vigo, legend has it that the team would use their own shirts as cones. The belief and ambition Mr. Dlamini had though wasn’t going to be deterred and through entries in local football tournaments, the team was able to win football kits & at times monetary rewards.

It run’s in the family….

Even before Celta Vigo FC, football had been a consistent feature in the Dlamini family with links to the yesteryear Zone 3 Sundowns FC that possessed ball wizards of the time. The elder brother of coach Themba ,Mandla had also plied his trade for the giants of Soweto, Moroka Swallows FC Under-19 team. Both would then work together in making Celta Vigo a formidable team in the Vaal Triangle. The year 2001 saw the club affiliate itself to the local SAFA structures so as to gain competitive action on a weekly basis. The club also put much emphasis on the development of players rather than winning at all costs, thus in most of the teams in the Vaal Triangle former Celta players can be traced.

The Golden Generation…

Every football club in the world has its golden generation,  a class that brings a lot of success and awesome memories. Think Barca under legendary Crutch, the Manchester of Beckham, Keane & Cantona,the Vaal Professionals of Nate “Bull” Lehoko ,the Swallows of Mini & Hlongwane, the Sundowns of Feutmba,Mnguni & Mudau,the Pirates of 1995 and the 2001 Chiefs of Muhsin.

Celta Vigo FC also had its golden generation,  players who played with absolute freedom, the real diski of kasi. The Themba Dlamini inspired Celta, which included the likes of Shebeleza, Dida, Zuma. Football grounds around the region were always packed just to see the wizardry of this team. Celta Vigo is the true definition of football flair, without any restrictions but also constructive and productive football. The kind of football many football spectators still yearn for.

Though many clubs focus on winning,  the Club’s Chief Executive Officer Mr. Mandla Dlamini stresses that at Celta Vigo, development takes precedence over triumph. This can be backed up by the number of youth teams at the club namely the boys Under-10, 13, 15, 17, 19, 23 coupled by the team’s first team. The club also consists of a girls under -13, 15 and a senior women’s team that competes in the Sasol Women’s League.

It is often said that ones actions say a lot about them,  and that is a true testament of Coach Themba who because of his work with the youth has seen him being roped in to assist the Jomo Cosmos juniors at one stage after providing the Jomo Cosmos Academy with seven players from Celta Vigo. The club due to its youth orientated policy has a relationship with Manco Milano FC ,another local side that has roped in Coach Themba in its technical team to help with the structuring of its development structures.

The club has a long list of successful graduates, the likes of Vusimuzi Gcantsana,Ruben Thebakang, Bongani Theletsane, James Mofokeng and many others.

Behind the name…

The club adopted its name from their Spanish counterparts Real Club de Celta Vigo as coach Themba saw the future of Celta Vigo beyond the dusty gravel grounds of Evaton. CEO of the club Mr. Mandla Dlamini says one of the club’s main goals is to establish links with their Spanish counterparts. The name Celta is derived from the Scottish word Celts whilst Vigo is a Spanish word for United.