This is not how it was supposed to be. Jayden Adams was set for greater things.
That he is now no longer alive beggars belief. The 25-year-old midfielder had just shown an incredible ability to defy the odds and reconfirm his standing as one of SA’s brightest footballing talents.
He had been seen as some kind of a delinquent a few of years ago when he failed to report for a Bafana Bafana camp, something that raised the ire of coach Hugo Broos so much that he was banished from the squad for a while.
The truancy episode also resulted in him falling out of favour, at club level, with Mamelodi Sundowns, and rumours even began circulating that he could well be out of Chloorkop.
But Adams appeared to have learnt from the experience.
Away from the public eye, Adams worked his way back into Miguel Cardoso’s team and ended up playing a role in the Brazilians winning a second CAF Champions League title.
It was a rebirth for the lad from Cloetesville, an area of Stellenbosch, who publicly declared that he had “grown up”. Responding to a question about him having cut his hair, he said: “I am a Grootman now.“
He literally gave himself the nickname. His performances thereafter were ‘Grootman material’ which Broos could not ignore, and Adams was back in the Bafana set-up
He did not disappoint and was deservedly part of the team that made history as the the nation’s first to progress out of the group stages of a World Cup. He was his usual, shy self upon return from the global showpiece, when captain Ronwen Williams introduced the squad to the fans who’d braved the morning cold to welcome Bafana at the OR Tambo International Airport.
But nothing could have prepared SA on Saturday for the devastating news that Adams had died.
On Sunday, tributes continued to pour in from around the globe.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino joined the global football community in sending condolences.
“It is so incredibly sad to hear that South African midfielder Jayden Adams has passed away just a few weeks after featuring in his nation’s historic World Cup campaign,” Infantino wrote.
“My thoughts and condolences, as well as those of everyone at Fifa and the global football community, are with his family, friends and teammates. The Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns star will be sorely missed.”
PSL chairman Irvin Khoza also sent his condolences: “There are losses for which life, however painful, gives us time to prepare. Jayden Adams’ untimely passing has left the nation stunned with grief.
“A young footballer of exceptional promise whose talent, humility and dedication had earned him the admiration of the nation. Please accept our heartfelt condolences and kindly convey them to the Jayden Adams family and the broader Masandawana family.”
Sowetan
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