Nga’s shock claim on Pirates strikers Even them, they know
In his tw o seasons at Orlando Pirates, Eva Nga struggled to break into the starting line-up under head coach Jose Riveiro and, after w aiting to get an opportu nity
to play regularly, he felt it w as finally time to part w ays w ith the club. The aim w as to go w here he w ould be able to be on the pitch w eek in and out. The best option? To return to Chippa United, the side w here he scored 10 goals in all competitions during 2021/22
before being lured to Gauteng. He is back w ith the side and determined to make a mark after his time w ith the Buccaneers did not go w ell in terms of game-time and scoring goals. In this interview , Soccer Laduma’s Tshepang Mailw ane speaks to the Cameroonian striker about how he left the Sow eto giants, eing frozen out nd w hy he feels e has a point to rove.
Tshepang Mailwane: Eva, how does it feel being back in the Eastern Cape with Chippa United?
Eva Nga: It feels good. I am back for six months to enjoy and play football. I will show people I am not finished, I am still the same Eva Nga. I want to prove people who did not believe in me wrong. This is a city I know and people I know, and they are people who trust me. I trust Chippa United because it’s the team that opened the door for me in the PSL to score more goals. What they offered me, as a player you can’t refuse. It’s for six months and there is a one-year option. I checked the project and I saw that it was nice. I checked the players and I saw how they were doing in the league, so I said, “Let me go there for six months and prove to people I am not finished.” The team is doing great, and I am with two colleagues from (Orlando) Pirates, (Goodman) Mosele and Craig Martin. We are in the same project and we have the same focus. I know the capacity of Mosele, he can pass the last ball to the striker. I know the capacity of Martin, who can run with the ball and cross into the box for the striker. That’s why I chose this project for me to come back here and try to help Chippa.
TM: Makes sense. EN:
I am not here to fight relegation. I want to put Chippa in the MTN8 for next season, whether I am going to leave or stay. I am showing my hunger and determination in training. I am here to help Chippa because the chairman (Siviwe Mpengesi) is someone who believes in me. My big challenge in these six months is to prove people wrong because I got many negative things from people, who say, “You did not do anything for Pirates”, and they say (I am a) ‘useless player’. I want to prove those people wrong. But I know that
not everything that people post is true because we know the reality.
TM: Who did not believe in you? EN: I don’t want to talk about that.
TM: When did the Chilli Boys start making contact with you?
EN: It was Morgan (Mammila, technical director) who was calling. I think they were calling for the last two years and I told him I don’t want to (move) because I wanted to fight for my place at Pirates. I will say this with respect, but the strikers (at Pirates) were not good more than me. Even them, they know. I thought that if I left, then I would not have done what I needed to do, so I thought let me stay and prove people wrong. But we are many strikers and the coach decides to choose someone he trusts in that moment. So, Chippa called me many times, but I was rejecting the offer, but then later I thought let me join Chippa for six months because here I know that I can prove people wrong. I believe in myself. My agent called me and said, “Eva, look, this is the project. Chippa is offering almost what you were getting at Pirates.” Football is not about staying at a big team and not playing. Then you lose your time. You must go somewhere where you can play. So, I thought why not, because Chippa was offering me the same salary and they even gave me a signing-on fee for six months. I told my agent that we should join the project. Chippa is the club that opened the door for me and I will always say thank you to them.
TM: Was it your decision to leave the Buccaneers?
EN:
Yes, it was my decision. I had a conversation first with the coach (Jose Riveiro). I remember I would get frustrated when I was not playing. I went to the coach and I asked him to tell me why I was not playing. He started telling me stories. He was not giving me an answer and I wanted him to give me the real reason (why) I was not playing. It was difficult, and I started telling my agent that I need gametime. I respect Pirates and they are in my heart forever. Pirates know my heart. When the club announced that I was leaving, I went to say goodbye to my teammates. The players were surprised and even the coach said he had never seen that before. Just because I was leaving Pirates, it did not mean I would not say goodbye. I
went there and I told them that I was happy to be there. I took my decision because I want to play football, because you can’t be training nicely during the week and when you are sure that you are going to be in the matchday squad, your name is not there. You get frustrated.
TM: Sure… EN:
You come back home and you are frustrated, and you start being aggressive with people who did nothing to you. It becomes difficult. I spoke to my agent so that he could speak to the club. There were other teams interested in me. I had my first meeting with my agent and he told me that he spoke to the chairman (Dr. Irvin Khoza) and the chairman agreed that I was going to stay at the club until the end of the season. After telling mya gen tth at I want to leave, I told him I wanted to stay. I was sure that I was going to stay, but I don’t know what happened. I was at home on a Sunday listening to good music, my agent called me and he said that Pirates called him and said I should leave. I was surprised because he had been in a meeting with the club and they had agreed that I was not going anywhere. They told my agent that the coach did not want me anymore because they wanted to bring another striker. I was shocked. I was feeling pain in my heart, but I did not want to show my agent. I said, “No problem, it’s football. I will accept.” When I got to the dressing room at Rand Stadium (to say farewell), the coach came to me and said, “Eva, I hear you want to leave us.” Then I was like, “Coach, they said you are the one who said I should leave because you don’t want me.”
TM: Talk about mixed signals! EN:
You understand what I am saying? I told him, “They said you said I must leave because you want to bring another striker.” The coach was in shock. He did not know anything about that and, on that day, I started believing him because I was angry with him. Sometimes I would arrive and I would not greet him. I would not look at his face. I was angry. I was training nicely, but I was not playing. I was frustrated. Even my teammates saw how I was frustrated, but they would speak to me. I did not want to fight with anyone, so I made the decision to leave. But Pirates showed me love and I respect them, and I will continue to support them. I won three cups with Pirates. I played in two of them and one I didn’t play.
TM: Before you joined the Soweto giants, there was talk of their rivals Kaizer Chiefs being interested in your services. Was this the case? EN: Yes, Kaizer Chiefs was interested. I even went there. I met Bobby (Motaung, football manager) and the sporting director (Kaizer Motaung Jnr). We agreed with (on) everything. But before Chiefs came, AmaZulu FC wanted me. At Chiefs, we had agreed with everything and all that was left was for me to sign. To this day, I don’t know what happened. I just received a call from my agent to tell me that they wanted to reduce the amount they had offered. Sometimes in life, you need to make a choice that will benefit you. The offer Chiefs had given me was the best offer in my life. Even Pirates didn’t give me that offer. The deal did not go through because I did not accept it, but it’s a team that I respect. They are a great team in Africa and I respect them and I wish them all the best.
TM: Do you regret not going to Naturena?
EN:
I don’t think I regret, but sometimes I was asking myself that if I had gone to Chiefs, I should have played all the games. If they bring (Ranga) Chivaviro and (Jasond) Gonzalez, I think that if I went to Kaizer Chiefs, I should have played all the games. When you check the midfield, they can pass the ball. But it was good for me to show that I am not playing football to get peanuts. Sometimes you must respect yourself for people to respect you.
TM: That’s true. Let’s leave it there, Eva. Thanks for your openness in addressing your Pirates departure, and hard luck that things didn’t go your way at the club. At least you now have a chance to write a new story with Chippa, and your Nedbank Cup goal last weekend is a good start. All the best!
EN: