‘I was sleeping with Satan’: former Bafana star Junaid Hartley on drug addiction

Former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates midfielder Junaid Hartley has opened up about how drug addiction turned him into a homeless beggar and how he turned his life around. 

After an addiction of many years to Ecstasy, Cat (Methcathinone) and crystal meth, Hartley has been clean for about two years and is rebuilding his life with a job in the insurance sector and coaching football. 

A product of Wits University FC, Hartley, who had spells in Portugal with Vitoria Setubal and France with Lens, made his debut for SA as a 19-year-old but only went on to make five appearances for Bafana. 

“Magic Feet” was also part of the SA squad under coach Shakes Mashaba for the Under-20 World Cup in Malaysia in 1997 where he scored a brace against a France combination containing Mikaël Silvestre, William Gallas, Nicolas Anelka, Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet in the group stages. 

“If I say I was sleeping with Satan, it  would be an understatement,” Hartley said. 

“Within a short space of time you lose your sanity ...  when you look in the mirror and don’t recognise that person you are in trouble. If you don’t recognise what you stand for, everything good you have done in the past is gone and you will never be able to stand up.

“The only thing in rehabilitation that made me start believing that the miracle is possible was when I looked in the mirror and said, ‘Now you can still capture the attention of a woman’. 

“My children have been unbelievable because not once have they been disrespectful towards me, but where I could see the difference was when I went to their school events — they could see, because I didn’t look the part. 

“The parents of their friends are well groomed and I didn’t look the part. You realise that maybe there is embarrassment here but that does not stop you from going to take the next hit.” 

Hartley said using drugs drew him into gambling. 

“My first experience with drugs was Ecstasy, then it went on to Cat and crystal meth and this was when things were [still] good. Through using Cat I started gambling. The first two to three months the casino was taking care of my responsibilities. 

“I was an addict but it wasn’t noticeable because I was functional, I still had the cologne, the designer clothes, I could still meet the rich boys in the casino and I lived and played the part. 

“But after a few months everything was gone. During my first interaction with Cat my mother had been diagnosed with cancer — when she passed away I went to crystal meth.” 

In a career spanning 1994 to 2006, Hartley, recognised as one of the most talented footballers of his generation, also turned out for Seven Stars, Moroka Swallows, Ajax Cape Town and Maritzburg United.