Appollis … from the doldrums to the Nations Cup
Chippa United coach Kwanele Kopo hopes to keep his emotions in check when exciting Bafana Bafana attacker Oswin Appollis makes his appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Ivory Coast.
Kopo, who was recently appointed Chippa co-coach with Thabo September, revived the career of Polokwane City’s Appollis (22) when he was idling at home without a club and faced an uncertain future.
As he relates the story of Appollis’ transformation from being clubless to possibly showcasing his talents at Afcon, Kopo said his only regret is not having taken a picture of him overweight when he arrived at Pretoria Callies.
Kopo said it took some convincing for the Pretoria Callies management to sign the attacker who went on to become a key player for Callies in the Motsepe Foundation Championship before he was signed by City.
GOOSEBUMPS
“I always get goosebumps when I see these players achieve things and it is going to be the same with Oswin,” said Kopo.
“I am really excited for him. We are in contact and I was chatting to him before they left for Afcon. It is going to be emotional to see him on that stage ... but a proud moment.
“When I look at the squad, Ronwen Williams, Teboho Mokoena, Oswin Appollis and Thapelo Maseko are players I worked with at youth level at SuperSport United.”
Kopo added he was surprised Appollis made it to Bafana so early but he never doubted the player’s potential.
“I am surprised in terms of the timing, but I am not in terms of his quality. He is a player that was always destined for the senior national team.”
Kopo explained that Appollis became clubless after he was released by SuperSport United.
“I guess he was deemed not good enough for the senior team and he stayed home. Teams did not chase after him and that was surprising.
“When I came to Pretoria Callies I remembered he was available and made contact to give him a chance to come to the club and revive his career.
“When he came back, I said he deserved to be in the U23 side because at the time I brought him back to Callies it was the generation of those born in 2001, which is his age group. I told him he can’t be sitting at home when he has played in an U20 World Cup. The main objective of bringing him back was to get him into the U23 team.”
Kopo said Appollis worked hard to get back to full fitness at Callies. “He was overweight and unfit, so it took some convincing to the management of Callies to sign him. He came and trained a few days and they said we are definitely signing this player, and from there the rest is history. He worked hard.
“Before he came to Callies, he said: ‘Coach, forget about the money because I just want to play football’. He had made up his mind that he wanted an opportunity to come back and play football.
“We gave him that stage. He was surrounded by the right people. Callies benefited from his performances and that led to his sale to Polokwane and I know there are still bigger things for him,” Kopo said.