Mabizela puts bullying claims behind him

"But I am a person who does not like to talk too much. I have to get along with people first and then begin to build a relationship with them. I don't want to say things that might upset people.

"I do understand the jokes in the dressing room and I laugh with the players. When I first came I told myself that it would take time to adjust to the kind of football they play in England and I am still learning. But the players and the coaching staff are helping me a lot."

Mbulelo and his brothers grew up with their mother, Mamazane Oldjohn, and grandmother, Hazel, in Pietermaritzburg, near Durban, after she divorced their father. But when Mbulelo's football career took off, he occasionally visited his father, Dumisani Mabizela, for guidance.

Mabizela senior had been a striker of some repute with teams like Amazulu, Benfica and Swift Swallows in South Africa.

Mabizela's mother still works as a nurse in Edendale Hospital and is thrilled by her son's achievements but says if it hadn't been for the intervention of a local football legend, Zeph Mthembu, Mbulelo would have been forced to quit the sport at an early age.

She said: "They wanted me to buy expensive soccer boots. I told Zeph that I would pull him out of the soccer clinics he was conducting. Zeph appealed to me to be patient because I would reap the fruits in the end. And now I'm seeing the fruits.

"I have accepted losing him because he wanted to go. It's his future and he must go and work."

Life for young OJ in apartheid South Africa was frustrating but the segregation at school was not something he allowed to interfere with his dream of playing the game at the highest level. He added: "I didn't have a hard time at all. I didn't come from a poor background. I had a good standard of living and we didn't struggle. This made things easy for me as a kid.

"Racism did not affect me because I was always focused on football. I had the same opportunities to play football as everyone else.

"The end of apartheid did open up more opportunities for us because before that we were all separated. Being separated was not fair on me or anyone else.

"But everything changes. I didn't get frustrated by the political thing. I just got on with my life."

Mbulelo honed his skills playing for the Sundowns Academy and Maritzburg City before joining Orlando Pirates. He quickly became captain and was selected for the national side after only four outings. An even greater honour followed when he became the youngest player ever to captain his country. The youngster puts his leadership qualities down to the influence of his grandmother.

"I think this leadership comes from Hazel," he said. "She held the family together. She used to tell me that sometimes I had to take responsibility for the family, even though I was not the eldest. She taught me everything that you need to know."

Hopefully that advice will help him carve out a career with Spurs and he says his goal against Leicester was just the first step.

He said: "It came as surprise that Tottenham wanted me to go back home with them on the plane. I was scared because I wasn't expecting an opportunity like this so soon. But now I am in England, I want to be a great player. Playing for the first time in the Premiership and scoring was a great experience for me. The way the ball came to me, I said to myself that 'this is my chance' and so I took it."

Now there is a younger version of Oldjohn ready to follow in his footsteps. His brother, S'bongiseni, plays for NSL First Division side Maritzburg City.

Mabizela said: "I also try to help S'bongiseni to reach higher levels in his career. But it will depend on how he responds to my mentoring."