FILE PICTURE: Jabu Mahlangu screams at the referee during the Absa Premiership match between Platinum Stars and Orlando Pirates held at Olympia Park in Rustenburg, South Africa. Photo by Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images
Mahlangu, known as Jubu Pule for the bulk of his playing days told Sunday Sun, “When I was 15 years old I was already a heavy drinker.
“When I started playing soccer professionally, there were times when I went to the field drunk.”
Mahlangu, who played 99 times for Kaizer Chiefs and won 20 caps for the national side, said that before cleaning up his act he also took drugs.
The effect of the booze and drugs took their toll and Mahlangu admits that pretty soon he was left with nothing. “We lost cars and our home,” he said. “My friends were nowhere to be found in my darkest days.”
But Mahlangu said he was now sober and putting his life back together, one day at a time, with the help of his wife and mother-in-law.
He is now working as an ambassador for SuperSport United, the club he played for briefly back in 2005, and The Alcohol Free Campaign.
– TeamTalk