I wanted to bring him to Sekhukhune

Themba Sithole, a man with the inborn ability to scout a player from a mile

away, and who usually does not get the credit he deserves for his many years of traversing the length and breadth of Mzansi in search of those hidden gems, coached Monnapule Saleng at Free State Stars in the 2019/20 season. In this mini-interview, the outspoken mentor waxes lyrical about his former protégé…

Lunga Adam: Coach, how did you find working with Monnapule Saleng at Free State Stars?

Themba Sithole: No, Monnapule Saleng… what happened is that I always used to have friendly games with his former team in Rustenburg, which was Orbit College, but the whole exercise was to make sure that during those friendly games, we assess and see which players from that team would be good enough to come on board at Free State Stars. So, that’s how we scouted Saleng in one of our friendly games. That was about two-and-a-half years ago. What I liked from Saleng, he didn’t

have the physique, but the speed and the tricks… because he’s got the skills as well, he can dribble, he can do a lot of things. As much as he is small, he can move the whole pitch and create space for himself to score goals. That is one of the good things that we got from Saleng. On the pitch, he’s not a player that you can say he plays on the left or he plays on the right – he’s got the mobility that you need now in the modern game. When you have Saleng on the pitch, defenders get confused because when you are a right back and you think you are marking him, the next minute he’s on the righthand side or he’s in the centre where people are already marking. That’s why he becomes dangerous and that’s why he will score a lot of goals because Saleng has got the mobility. You might think he’s small. Maybe he won’t fight with the big guys, but also he would mark when we were defending and he would contribute when we were going forward. So, at Free State Stars, our job was just to complete what the coaches had done

at the amateur level, which was to teach them exactly how to operate in you know in football, when you are defending, teams want to press, teams want to counter-press when they lose possession, they want to drop the block and whatever. So, those are the things we were teaching these guys because when we get them and they are over 20, we are no longer developing. All we were doing was just to prepare them for the big league and the national teams, and I think we have achieved that with a majority of them and Saleng is one of them.

LA: So, you’re not surprised with how he’s come in and done at Orlando Pirates so far this season?

TS: I was very disappointed when Pirates bought him from us and they still wasted one season on loan ko (at) Moroka Swallows. I wanted to bring him to Sekhukhune (United). Unfortunately, Pirates decided to take him to Swallows because mina I know Saleng and I thought by that time he was ready to even play at Pirates. But also, if you look at it… okay, he went to Swallows and I kept on talking to him as well, trying to motivate him. Even this season, I still recommended him at Sekhukhune, I wanted to bring him this side, but then Pirates said, “No, no, no, wait a little bit” and look

at where Saleng is now. So, Saleng and even the national team will benefit a lot (out of him). Pirates are still going to benefit a lot out of him. He’s one of those players that are going to be very, very big in the country. People just see him now, but they already… If he stays focused, because again, it’s about focus. There is one article that I was reading somewhere where they were talking about Saleng with the singers in Johannesburg now, and I was quite disappointed because he

needs to focus on his game.

LA: How can Pirates protect him from these ever-lurking social ills that tend to besiege famous soccer stars?

TS: You see, Pirates, I don’t think they are going to do much. They

are a professional club, they’ve got a lot of big stars there to focus on. What I’ve seen with the big teams, as soon as they sign you, it means wena you are up to the challenge. They are not social workers, but always they are going to talk to you about drinking or anything. When you sign with a big team like Pirates, you need to know exactly what you want to do. But the one good thing with Saleng, he’s got a very good support structure at home. His coach back home, at Orbit, who is also his agent… I don’t know if he very good support from this guy. Knowing his background, where he comes from, I don’t see a boy that is going to give problems because he’s now with Pirates, because he’s in Johannesburg. Saleng is very focused, that’s why I’m saying he’s going to be one of the big hits in the country. He showed when he was with us that he knows where he wants to go, so I don’t see him going like the other boys who, when they get money, start drinking and doing all these funny things.

LA: Sometimes we see a player setting the scene alight at a big team, only to struggle to maintain that consistency, and before we know it, we never hear about him again. It seems you believe Saleng is cut from a different cloth.

TS: You know, Free State Stars was not just a club, it was an institution where also we were teaching these guys. You know, with soccer players, we made them understand that you know what, you are playing football because God gave you the second chance because a majority of footballers, academically, they are limited. God gave you an opportunity to play football, so you need to focus and make sure that you’re playing football. Now, if you look at the players that came through our

system, from bo (the likes of) Jimmy Kauleza, bo Gert Schalkwyk, bo Hleza Mofedi… you know, we can talk about bo Siphiwe Tshabalala. We used to teach them exactly How to behave themselves for them to be able to succeed in football because talent alone doesn’t help. You need to also make sure that you know what you want to achieve and understand that football is the second chance that God gave you to make sure that you have a good life. And look at where bo Siphiwe Tshabalala are today, look at bo Sthembiso Ngcobo. There is a big list … you can talk about bo Kauleza, bo Daniel Cardoso, they are still in the game. So, it was an institution where we were teaching these guys exactly that your talent alone is not enough, you need to behave yourself, make sure that when it comes to weekend, you have the energy to go on the field and perform, and I think Saleng is one of those players that I don’t see disappointing. That’s why I’m saying he’s going to be something very big in the country because I know the boy is quite disciplined, he doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke and he’s focused. He wants to succeed and he wants to make his mark, and you can see what he’s doing already. Unless Johannesburg is going to change him, but I don’t think so.

LA: Coach, we appreciate your insight on a player you clearly rate very highly. We all hope to continue seeing the best of Saleng for many seasons to come.

TS: Thank you very much.