What made me choose SuperSport

Zola Doda: Magazi, how have you settled down to life back home since returning from overseas?

Siyanda Xulu:

I’m just trying to settle down, and the worst thing we can do as professionals is to undermine the league. The league has changed so much. I need to get to know my teammates, I need to get to know the coach in terms of what he wants from me as a senior player. I’m just taking it one day at a time and I hope it’s going to be a good period for me at SuperSport United.

ZD: What do you think has changed about the PSL?

SX:

A lot has changed. I mean, now we have coaches that influence the league in a positive way. There is coach Rhulani (Mokwena), coach Mabhudi (Khenyeza), someone I’ve played with and who is doing well at Golden Arrows. For the past eight games, he has managed to put some pressure on (Mamelodi) Sundowns and ourselves, which is very good. We have overseas coaches… the TS Galaxy coach (Sead Ramovic) has a football identity that is based on pressing well and maintaining possession. I think it’s interesting for me to come back to a league that is doing well. In terms of players, from my team, Ime (Okon) has done well, Grant Margeman has been playing well. From Sundowns, Teboho Mokoena has raised the bar, Ronwen Williams has improved a lot, which is why I’m complimenting coach Rhulani. Themba Zwane is showing his experience and is an integral part of his team, which is good for players who are the same age as me. He puts pressure on us to keep going.

ZD: What was the main reason for you to return to South Africa?

SX:

What we always look at as players is stability and going overseas was to realise my dream and to try and see how far I was in terms of my quality, and I think I did that. When SuperSport came to me with something concrete, it was a question of: “Do I go back overseas and play in the biggest leagues or come back home to something stable?” We all know what SuperSport means to players and that is something that impressed me so much. I’m very happy with the decision that I took and that is something that will challenge me as a player, working with someone who is hard to impress in Gavin (Hunt). That is a factor that made me choose to sign for SuperSport because I know that he is a coach that wants to achieve things. I am a very competitive player. I knew that coming back home, I would have a coach that will challenge me as a player and we have a good team at SuperSport. I mean, look at the players that we have… “Tyson” (Thulani Hlatshwayo), Etiosa Ighodaro, Terrence Dzvukamanja, Margeman, Siphesihle Ndlovu. I signed for a team that is going to compete in the league and a team that is going to push me as a player.

ZD: There were reports that Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos said that in order for you to have a chance of playing for the national team in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, you needed play in South Africa. Did that influence your decision?

SX:

I have a very good relationship with coach Hugo and he was one coach that was very much involved in me moving to SuperSport United. I did give him a call and ask what he felt about me coming back home to join SuperSport. He gave me a greenlight and said with the kind of football they are playing, they are very competitive and coach Gavin is very demanding as a coach. He thought I was going to do well. He was very much involved. It was a decision that I took, but I also wanted to hear from him as someone who thinks that my chances of coming back home to South Africa were going to influence

him as a coach.

The kind of experience that Siyanda Xulu possesses cannot be compared to some medication that can be bought over the counter to cure an illness. It is a culmination of years and years on the training field, not to mention match situations that have toughened up, facing different strikers for the different teams he’s turned out for, in different leagues nogal. Having previously plied his trade in cold Russia, religious Israel and oil-rich Azerbaijan, the man affectionately known as “Magazi” has just found out that home, sunny South Africa, is where the heart is. It is a coup for SuperSport United, securing the services of the Bafana Bafana defender at the beginning of the current season. In this interview with Soccer Laduma’s Zola Doda, the 31-year-old discusses various aspects of his career, including his time abroad, Matsatsantsa’s African sojourn, trying to catch up with Mamelodi Sundowns… and more.

ZD: As an experienced player, surely there must have been other clubs interested in you.

SX: I had offers from other clubs, but I thought SuperSport was the club for me and that is why I signed. But there were various offers in the country and

overseas as well. Looking at the opporme, tunity that came to the question was: “Do I let this slip away or do I still want to play overseas?” I stuck to my guts to come back home.

ZD: What’s the difference between facing local and overseas strikers?

SX: Dealing with overseas strikers, they are more direct and very tactical. It’s very key for a defender to stay concentrated for the rest of the game, which is one thing that is still lacking in South Africa. We spend too much time on the ball and sometimes tend to do unnecessary things. Some defenders do recover because of the delay (caused by strikers), and overseas that is a situation you can never allow yourself to be in – you sleep for two seconds and that is enough for a player to score. In South Africa, we do things that allow defenders to get back into position.

ZD: Why did you move from Israel to Azerbaijan? SX:

I didn’t see eye-to-eye with the coach and there were things that I felt he could have handled better, so I decided to terminate (my contract) with them. I didn’t have a team for a good five months and when we played against France, I didn’t have a team. It was a very emotional decision and in football, every player deserves that respect and that is something that I didn’t get from my former coach back in Israel. But the experience of playing for a big team in Israel was still priceless. There are always huge expectations on foreign players and that is something that kept me on my feet in every experience and every game.

ZD: Tell us about the experience in Azerbaijan…

SX:

It was different because when I went there, I had already gained experience in Russia and Israel. It wasn’t that easy, but it was something that I could manage. It was not a question of being young and not knowing how Europeans think and play. That is where I was more confident and more matured. Dealing with strikers was different because they play a more physical game and they were quite quick when it comes to transition.

ZD: You have played in three countries abroad, whereas a lot of local players seem to be content with staying in Mzansi.

SX:

I think it’s about what you want for yourself as a player. For me, I’ve always wanted to compare myself with the best and you know that the best players are in Europe. I’ve achieved a lot individually from winning the Young Player of the Season at Sundowns, getting to be recognised in the national team when I was very young. I wanted to challenge myself. Other players might think their dream is to play in the South African league, which is not a problem, but for me, I wanted to realise my dream beyond the borders. I wanted to see how far I was when it comes to my talent and career.

ZD: What do you want to achieve at Matsatsantsa? Is winning the league a priority ahead of CAF Confederation Cup success?

SX: I’ve been with the team for three months. I’m just getting to see how far we can go when it comes to the league and to see that the players that we have, are they capable enough to challenge for CAF? You should bear in mind that we are very limited when it comes to the squad. The depth is not so much compared to your (Orlando) Pirates, (Kaizer) Chiefs and Sundowns. We are very limited and the club has indicated that we play our home games in Polokwane, which doesn’t help when it comes to recovery. Games are coming in thick and fast and obviously (you’re) playing CAF as well. So, it’s really, really one factor that worries me because players can never recover the same. We have to play away in Cape Town and for the next two days we have to travel to Polokwane again. If it was a home game (in Pretoria), we could have taken the two days to try and recover from the trip in Cape Town. And for the next four days you have to go Africa. It’s about the squad that we have now that is going to determine whether we go as far in terms of the league and CAF Confederation Cup.

ZD: Your former team, Downs, has won six lea gue titles in a row. What will take it for another side to challenge them?

SX:

Sundowns has done very well in terms of knowing how to win the South Afric an league. The financial muscle has helped as well because they were able to get quality players within the (domestic) league. They were able to go to South America and get players that will suit the identity of football that they want to play. It’s going to take some time for other teams to catch up because it’s not a financial issue, it’s a matter of getting the right players that suit the way that you play. It’s about getting a coach that understands what the players need and (they have) coach Rhulani and (had) coach Pitso (Mosimane) previSo, ously. it’s going to be very challenging for other teams to catch up. It’s the only question for now, will other teams get the depth that they need to suit the style that they play and the depth that they need? Sundowns has managed to do that for the past seven seasons.

ZD: In three months’ time, there is the small matter of the Afcon. How ready are you and what preparations are you making to get into the Bafana Bafana squad? SX: With the experience that I have, I have learned (that) for me to do well for the national team, I have to do well at my team. The most important thing for me is to do well for SuperSport United and for us to be very competitive and win games. The more we win games and the more we keep clean sheets at the back, it’s going to be comfortable going to the national team knowing that I’m fit, competitive and I’m on top of my game. For the national team, we are only together four to five times a year, so the most important thing is for me to do well for my club.

MIGHT PLAYERS “OTHER DREAM IS THINK THEIR IN THE SOUTH TO PLAY WHICH IS LEAGUE, AFRICAN BUT…” PROBLEM, NOT A

ZD: Magazi, good to see you back. Thanks a lot for taking time out to talk to us and we wish you everything of the best. SX: My pleasure. ❐