Kaizer Chiefs defender Jimmy Tau was given time off from training and other first team activities on Tuesday morning by Amakhosi coach Muhsin Ertugral. A visibly emotional Tau was excused from Naturena and allowed to take the rest of the day off as he comes to grips with the passing away of his former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana team mate Gift Leremi.

Jimmy and Gift spent three seasons together at Pirates starting at the beginning of the 2002 – 2003 season when Jimmy joined Pirates from Maritzburg City and Gift was promoted in the same year to the Orlando Pirates first team from the clubs junior ranks.

Despite Jimmy leaving Pirates at the start of the 2005 – 2006 season, the pair remained close friends and continued socializing and spent time away from the field together.

The Chiefs defender received the information of the passing away of Gift early on Tuesday morning, and despite being overcome with grief, Jimmy made his way to the Kaizer Chiefs village in Naturena for training, where he was consoled by Ertugral and a number of his team mates before being told that he had been given the day off.

Tau made his way back to his car and headed straight away to Leremi’s family home in the nearby Soweto suburb of Pimville, to spend time with Gift’s grieving family.

Closer than life itself

Tau has described the loss of Leremi as not just that of losing a friend as Leremi was much closer to him than that, “It is going to take me time to get to grips with the fact that I have lost a brother” commented Jimmy.

“Gift and I were not friends or teammates we were more like brothers. He was there with me through many testing times and I hope to believe that I was there for him when he needed me” said Jimmy as he openly wept while talking to KaizerChiefs.com.

During his inaugural season with Pirates, Jimmy was new in Johannesburg and amongst the first of his new team mates to befriend him was Leremi, and through the next couple of seasons they grew closer together and while Jimmy left Pirates to join Chiefs in July 2005, Leremi remained at The Amakhosi’s rivals for a further two seasons before departing for Sundowns in July this year.

Time will heal all wounds

Jimmy had previously lost a team mate and friend in a car accident back in 2003 when the former Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs youth team player Lesley Manyathela died in a car crash in August 2003 a couple of hours after featuring in an SAA Supa8 match for Pirates.

It had taken Tau a few seasons to come to terms with the loss of Manyathela and it will take him many months to come to terms with the reality of another of his talented friends having left the world.

“Gift was a lively and energetic person; he was the type of guy you would be happy to call your friend or your team mate, even when I left Pirates we remained close buddies. If he could see me today I bet he would tell me not to shed a tear for him. The thing is how can I not mourn the passing away of a man who was an excellent footballer, a great friend and a person who would always know how to turn the lights on in a dark time for his friends” added Jimmy.