Soccer star 'victim of witch-doctor poison'

Former Bafana Bafana footballer Delron Buckley has revealed details of a plot to poison him while he was at the height of his fame.

The incident, which made him contemplate suicide, is disclosed in his biography that will be released on Friday.

Buckley, who was a leading goal-scorer in German football's Bundesliga for 14 years, is now the Amazulu assistant coach.

He got his lucky break in 1994 when he was spotted playing for his grandfather's amateur team, Butcherville Rovers in Durban, by top coach Gordon Igesund.

Igesund recommended him to German club Vfl Bochum, for which he scored 39 goals and which was the springboard to other clubs. He played for seven European clubs and had a four-year spell with one of Germany's most successful clubs, Borussia Dortmund, on a contract that earned him R5.9-million.

Buckley, who played 79 games for Bafana Bafana, wrote that in July 2005 he and his German bride, Raphaela, visited Durban for three weeks to celebrate their wedding and his signing for Dortmund.

It was during this time that a person, not named in the book, poisoned his food.

Buckley, who has three daughters - Charlize, Jada and Malia - was raised by his mother, Yvonne Abrahams, and his grandfather Godfrey Buckley. His father left the family before he was born.

The book, written by Myan Subrayan, details how the poison plot was uncovered a few months after Buckley was given the poison.

"An aunt of mine visited us from South Africa and explained how she had overheard someone (known to both of us) gloating that they were responsible for my demise in 2005/6 [Bundesliga football season]. This person revealed their plan to destroy me, having laced my meals they had prepared with a type of mind-altering substance," he said.

The poison was obtained from a witch doctor, he was told. It put him in a dazed state, inhibited his performance on the field and knocked his confidence.

Subrayan said he consulted several medical experts about the poison. All, he said, confirmed the possibility of the negative impact on the player.

At the time, Buckley had moved from Bochum, where he'd played for nine years, to Arminia Bielefeld before transferring to Dortmund.

"I had the best football season in my career at Bielefeld. It was the peak of my career. And then to come to Dortmund, where you have 80,000 in a stadium every second week, and Bielefeld only had 20,000," he said.

"As days passed expectations were high and I was not scoring. Pressure was building up. If you don't perform at Dortmund it gets hectic. I got depressed and I fell into a hole. I had never been depressed in my life. All I had was my wife and little daughter," said Buckley.

"I couldn't speak to anyone to share my feelings, as I was too embarrassed. If there was ever a time I needed a father, it was then. This thought brought me to my senses - if I took my life, I would deprive Charlize of her dad. I couldn't do that, especially as I knew what it was like growing up without a father."

He said he hoped his story, including a desperate stint in 2010 when he was without a club and close to financial ruin, would help and inspire others, particularly young players.

"The pressure to succeed in professional sport is intense, which makes us susceptible to mental health issues."

He said it was especially hard when he retired. Then "you are not in the limelight anymore, [you] are more alone".