Siphelele Ntshangase
From trial-failure to Bafana fame
Siphelele Ntshangase’s rise from trial-failure to Bafana has been spectacular.
In December 2013, Siphelele Ntshangase failed trials at an NFD club. Some 15 months later, on the books of another NFD club, Ntshangase was called up to Bafana Bafana. Boasting double figures in both goals and assists, Ntshangase is the sort of player Shakes Mashaba has an eye for, and the national team coach could not resist the temptation to call up the Black Leopards star for the friendly internationals against Swaziland and Nigeria. The 21-year-old striker, nicknamed ‘Studge’, responded by excelling against Swaziland after coming on as a first half substitute to play as a support striker to fellow debutant Thabo Mnyamane. “There is absolutely no way that you can ignore this boy when you have had the chance to watch him,” says former Leopards coach Kosta Papic, the man who needed just half an hour to be convinced that he had found a gem when Ntshangase arrived for trials at Leopards early last year. Ntshangase acknowledges a debt to Papic, saying the Serbian coach rescued him from the scrap-heap as he was about to give up on football after failing to progress through Mamelodi Sundowns’ development ranks, followed by unsuccessful trials at Golden Arrows and Thanda Royal Zulu. “Coach Papic told me that he was going to make me a South African star after seeing me make just four to five touches on the ball in the 45 minutes I played during a friendly match for players on trial,” Ntshangase says. “When I heard those words, after he had asked me my name, age and why I was so small, I knew that I was already a Leopards player. I just didn’t like that he was holding my head, as only people back home are allowed to touch my hair,” he chuckles. Studge says he is also thankful to Vusi Mthembu, coach at the Durban-based Brazil Academy, who stood by him after Thanda coach Thami Ngubane had decided he was not good enough. “To be told that the coach didn’t see what he wanted in me was really discouraging, especially considering how long I had spent there and how much effort I had put in,” Ntshangase says. “After those failed trials at Thanda in December 2013 I told myself I was quitting football to concentrate on my studies because maybe I was just not as good as I thought.” How times have changed, as just over a year later he stands head and shoulders above everyone else as the best player in the NFD and can call himself a Bafana Bafana player. “The Bafana camp opened me up to the reality of professional football – things in relation to discipline and keeping time … players arriving 15 minutes early for meetings. Playing with [Thulani] Serero, learning from [Sibusiso] Vilakazi … I have become a better person just from that camp,” he says. Leopards will find it difficult to hold onto their gem beyond the next transfer window, and they know that when Gauteng clubs start flashing telephone-number figures in their face they will just have to let him go. “The PSL is not the ultimate destination, but will form part of the route to Europe – particularly England – where I feel I can play as soon as tomorrow. I have no doubt that I can play in the Premiership. I know some people might think this is wishful thinking, but that is what I am working towards,” Ntshangase declares. While some dreams do not come true, Ntshangase’s qualities cannot be ignored. Despite a lack of physical power, Ntshangase is brave and energetic. Not only does he thrive on scoring, he also provides assists in abundance
“Papic told me he was going to make me a South African star”
– half of the goals scored by his teammates having been engineered by him. The icing on the cake is that he does it all with flair, and knows how to carry the ball through all the tight spaces. Since his arrival at Leopards, coach Zeca Marques has improved Ntshangase’s game. He has learnt to drift across any space he finds behind the main striker, and he has increasingly become the focal point of Leopards’ attacks with touches that open any defence. “A fantastic footballer; I’ve seen him grow in confidence and self-assurance since I got here,” Marques says. “He has improved and is an important player not only because he can score, assist and dribble, but because he also makes his teammates play.” Another positive characteristic is that Studge is humble. Leopards’ team manager Lawrence Okwara – a Nigerian – goes so far as to refer to him as the Jay-Jay Okocha of South Africa. “He is the kind of player that I refer to as a natural born footballer. He loves his football so much that without the ball next to him he feels like crying. “At training when he is given a break he takes the ball with him to juggle; he just wants to play with the ball, that is how much he loves football. The boy is so crazy about having the ball near him that I have started calling him Jay-Jay,” Okwara enthuses.