Tshegofatso Mabasa
Having waited three years for his first goal after making his professional debut at Bloemfontein n Celtic, striker i Tshegofatso Mabasa is biding his time again at Orlando Pirates, where he has played under three coaches in his first season with The Bucca
The Orlando Pirates striker wants more minutes on the pitch as he also admits he should score more goals.
KICK OFF: How much of a disturbance has the coronavirus pandemic been to you? Tshegofatso Mabasa:
It has been a huge disturbance because I feel like the team was at a turning point and we had picked up good form to continue winning games and end the season strongly. It has been a bit of a disruption for us and what is worse is that this is something new considering that no-one in the world has ever experienced something like this before. It is a matter of adjusting to it and try to keep fit as best as possible. On a personal level I have been working out and we have been having our routine zoom sessions with the team. We cannot dispute that all our lives have been disrupted.
How would you describe your first season at Pirates to date?
It has honestly been a dream come true for me to play for a club that I grew up supporting. I have memories of this club winning the ‘Double Treble’ and then playing in the Champions League final [in 2013], and in the final CAF Confederation Cup [in 2015].
This all happened while I was still at school and those were great moments for me, and I only want to emulate the legends who did that. To be a part of this great institution really means the world to me. What I wanted to come and do here was to win trophies, but it seems things haven’t gone so well for us. The positive is that this is only my first season so hopefully things can improve and I keep on getting better.
Was your decision to join Pirates influenced by family?
[Laughing] My late uncle was a Pirates fan, yet my father [Jimmy Mabasa] is a Kaizer Chiefs supporter. In the end I fell in love with Pirates and took my uncle’s side instead of my father!
After an encouraging start with Rhulani Mokwena, where you scored all but one of your six goals under him, things have faded away a bit …
What happened was that when we changed coaches, the new coach [Jozef
Zinnbauer] started with [Gabadinho] Mhango and he hit the ground running. He started scoring in every game. He was on form and there is no way you could take him out when he was in that kind of form. I supported him all the way while waiting for my chance, the same way he had done when I was starting. What I have made sure I do is to continue working hard and keep on pushing myself to the limit.
How much of an effect did the change of coaches have on you having played under three this season in Milutin Sredojevic, Mokwena and Zinnbauer?
At the end of the day we are professional players so this shouldn’t disrupt us that much. This is all part of the game and we must adapt to whatever situation or circumstances we might find ourselves in. At the end of the day we must keep on working hard and to win games. If the coach says, ‘let us go right’, we must go right and if he says, ‘go left’ then we must go left. It is a team sport, so we must all stay together to try and emulate their game-plan and try to win as many matches as possible.
“IT WAS JUST UNFORTUNATE FOR ME TO LOSE MY PLACE AND GABA TOOK HIS CHANCE.”
You didn’t start off at the top under Micho and then played mostly under Mokwena, while with Zinnbauer you have had to settle for the bench…
It does tell a bit of story but then being the religious person that I am, I always believe in God’s timing. Certain things happen to you for a reason and maybe that it is an indication that I must take those lessons and grow even more. It has not been so different to play under all three. You could practically say we were coached by the same person. Of course, there will be tweaks here and there but it is nothing major. We have had a game model and we try to execute it as best as possible. It was just unfortunate for me to lose my place and Gaba took his chance, and has been doing well ever since.
What cannot be disputed is that results have improved under Zinnbauer. Why has this been the case?
I think Zinnbauer worked on the scoring of goals because we had been creating so many chances in games and yet
we would score and still concede. He also worked on our defensive organisation as well, which has been there for everyone to notice. It has been helping us ever since because I believe that was something we needed and helped us turn the corner into where we are now in the league. I think you have seen how we dominate games and even against Sundowns, we had more possession and chances so it is just that thing of taking our chances and defending well so that we don’t give an inch for the opponent to score.
Your goals un nder Mokwena were difficult to ignore. How were you able to mak ke it happen so early into you ur stay at Pirates?
It all comes dow wn to working hard and d knowing what you want to o achieve, and the targets th hat you have set out for yourse elf from the beginning of the season. I didn’t play, then camec from the bench in the opening few games, so ob bviously it then got to me an nd I realised that I am at a new w place now so I need to double my efforts from wwhat I was putting in at my pprevious club for me to be e noticed here. That is what I did, , and it paid off.
You have sinc ce moved to 19 appearances wit th a return of six goals, all of which cam me before the end of November. As a striker, how do you view those figures an nd what numbers did you have in mind?
I feel like I coul d improve on those statistics, especia lly the goals part because I believe I was signed to score goals and help the team win games. That’s exactly how it was before it started fading away and the only way I can improve on that is by working even harder for the club and scoring more goals. In terms of targets at the beginning of the season, the number I had set was 18 and I am a bit far off that figure now, mainly because I don’t feel I have had enough minutes on the pitch. The plus is that I can still improve on those numbers by working hard to achieve those goals. I am a bit disappointed by my number of goals for this season so far because I believe they should be more, and I should be already on double figures.
With what remains of the season, do you feel you can still reach double figures like you did last season?
Given the chance to do so I would do that.
You previously played a game from start-to-end last year in October against Stellenbosch FC, which is rather worrying whichever way you analyse it …
This has nothing to do with fitness because I have been working extra hard all season and even during the lockdown. I have been working on areas that I needed to improve on, and nothing has changed up to now because I haven’t stopped working. I have been working very hard this season and hopefully it will
“YOU HAVE SEEN HOW WE DOMINATE GAMES AND EVEN AGAINST SUNDOWNS, WE HAD MORE POSSESSION AND CHANCES.”
got the opportunity to play there was no need to take him off. You cannot even start thinking about taking someone who is in that form out. It is impossible to do that. So, I was supporting him all along and I was being there for him, encouraging him to reach that 20-goal mark.
When a guy that you are in competition with gets going the way Gaba has done, how do you deal with it?
There is a saying that I was taught by coach Steve [Komphela]: ‘support the one that is playing ahead of you because when you play you will need that support as well’. It is something that I will always hold on to and like I said, Gaba got his opportunity and hit the ground running. I am a very religious person and I believe in God’s timing is always the best. It was his time to do that and it was his time to shine, and he is doing it to perfection. No-one can stop him this season. It has been an amazing season for him, and I will keep on encouraging him to keep doing even better because at the end of the day, we are part of one team. We have a common goal and that is to win trophies.
Has your time at Pirates encouraged the kind of career growth that you desire?
My time at Pirates has made me stronger mentally. I now know that there is no substitute for working hard. Those are the two main things that I have learnt since I have been here, and they have made me improve. I believe I have grown as a player and I am no longer that young boy that was at Celtic anymore. I have always had the desire to win trophies with the club, and win the individual awards that come when the team does well. And then ultimately play overseas.
Do you feel you have won over the Pirates faithful and justified your signing by the club considering that some of the Ghost still don’t understand your game, which is getting into the box rather than being flashy?
I think I had a good start for someone in his first year and I believe I can improve on that. I performed well in the first half of the season when I was given the chance. I believe I did well and didn’t let them down at all and I can only improve from here. I think what is lacking in our game is another Benni McCarthy. It has been a while since we had a striker as prolific. OK, we did have [Siyabonga] Nomvethe in his later years when he scored goals for fun. That is a striker’s job and that is what he needs to do. He doesn’t have to jump and bounce on the ball and beat three players first. You understand? His job is to get into the box and bury every chance that he gets. South Africa desperately needs that kind of forward right now. Overseas you have players like Kevin De Bruyne playing two touches on the ball and you wonder what makes him so great. It is all about keeping it simple.
“I DON’T FEEL I HAVE HAD ENOUGH MINUTES ON THE PITCH.”