Marc Batchelor: ‘Man-mountain of a striker’ was larger than life

Marc Batchelor, who died in a shooting on Monday night, was a hugely competitive striker, who played for Gauteng giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, as well as Tshwane’s two best teams, Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United, in a glittering club career.

Batchelor was part of the Pirates squad that won the league title in 1994 and the Caf Champions League a year later.

“I enjoyed playing with Marc, he was very aggressive, especially when it came to scoring goals,” said his former Pirates captain Edward Motale yesterday.

“At one stage I was his captain and he made my job easy by scoring when we won the league title, and when we were contesting for the Champions League. He couldn’t go all the way (in the Champions League) because he had an injury, but when he was there he fought for us.

“He also assisted us at the back from corner kicks, because of his height. He was a team player, even when I moved to SuperSport, I met him there and it continued in the same way.

“Off the field he was a very kind person, protective of his teammates.

“He would always take us out for a drink after the game, especially after he had played a very good game. He took us out, myself, Gavin Lane and Mark Fish, and he spent a fortune on us.

“He was a hard worker, I don’t remember him missing a single training, and he was one person you could take all over, to Soweto, wherever; he appreciated people, he welcomed everyone.

“I just want to say to his friends and family, my condolences, we all have to leave the world, but not in this fashion,” Motale said.

Born in Johannesburg on January 4, 1970, Batchelor’s career started in the Southern Transvaal, where he played for the regional Under-12 side alongside George Dearnley and James Small, the former Springbok rugby player, who also recently died.

He started his professional career at Dynamos, before moving to Wits in 1992, doing well enough that Pirates came in for him two years later.

As well as the Caf Champions League and league title, Batchelor also won the Caf Super Cup and BP Top Eight with the Buccaneers, before moving to SuperSport, and then on to Amakhosi in 1997.

With Chiefs, Batchelor won the 1998 Rothmans Cup, scoring in a semifinal win over Pirates, and he then moved on to Sundowns, before retiring at Moroka Swallows.

“I used to wind him up about the number of clubs he played for,” said his childhood friend Dearnley yesterday. “I think he worked out that every time he went to a different club he got a signing-on fee. He probably made more money than those ahead of him [at each club]!

“I knew him since we were 11, even from that age he was a larger-than-life character,” added Dearnley, also a man-mountain of a South African striker, who only played against Batchelor as a professional.

“He was one of those guys who was just fiercely competitive. When I was at AmaZulu, he was at Wits and when I was at Seven Stars, he was at Chiefs. He gave everything on the pitch, he hated losing the ball, he hated losing a header.

“He was on the field to win games and to protect his teammates. I remember one of my teammates kicked Doctor Khumalo at Athlone Stadium and Batch ran 30-metres across the pitch to have a word. I don’t think anyone kicked him again after that!

“From a football point of view, on the field he would glare at you and froth at the mouth, but off the field you would have a beer, talk rubbish and have a laugh.”

“Last night I saw the news (of his passing) and everyone was sending messages. It is a hollow feeling, I have been living in Cape Town for the last 20 years and haven’t seen him face to face for over a year, but when you have known each other for 40 years…

“I have a great pic of me running with the ball against Wits and Batch is facing the wrong way. I sent the picture to him to say ‘what happened here?’

“He would come back with a whole story of what happened and why and how he had done everything right. He would give me no credit for sending him the wrong way!

“He had a good career. I have only been out with him a couple of times in the last five years, but he looked after himself, he was physically very strong and did a lot of gym work. He didn’t drink a lot, but he couldn’t stop talking! I talk a lot but he would dominate conversations!”

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