I’m not that type of a person

Happy Jele spent 16 years at Orlando Pirates, earning himself cult-hero status amongst the club’s fans. Kopano Thuntsane spent just two years less at the side, and sadly the same cannot be said of the goalkeeper. Rather, he can be described as an ‘almost man’. After working his way through the club’s ranks, he was eventually promoted to the first team and even came within touching distance of making his first appearance. However, that never came. Instead, three seasons after his promotion, he was let go without realising his dream of donning the famous Black and White jersey in the elite division. Luckily for Thuntsane, though, he has landed safely in the Birds’ nest at Moroka Swallows after a period of being without a club. This is where he will work with a man, in Thela Ngobeni, whose situation is very similar to that of his. Soccer Laduma’s Delmain Faver caught up with the 24-year-old to discuss his new home as well as the one he left after 14 years.

Delmain Faver: Kopano, it’s fantastic to hear that you are back on the football field and to doing what you do best. One can’t imagine how you must be feeling after a long time without a club…

Kopano Thuntsane: I’m very happy and, for me, I’m also happy because of, like, how the guys welcomed me in the team. They welcomed me well, yeah.

DF: You are in for some tough competition from the likes of Daniel Akpeyi and Thakasani Mbanjwa.

KT: Oh, the competition is very healthy and I’m learning a lot from them and they are also teaching me because they are experienced goalkeepers and they are good human beings also. I would say, from my side, I’m working hard at training. When I get a chance, I’m gonna use it, and I wanna make people proud and I wanna win games for them to make sure the team is doing well also.

DF: Another good human being that you are working with is Thela Ngobeni. His situation was very similar to yours in that he had to wait for his chance for so long. He had to be so patient and it finally came when he left Kaizer Chiefs. How is it working with him so far?

KT: Yeah, he understands the situation and he’s teaching me a lot of things. I do talk to him, he does teach me things as well.

DF: In terms of fitness, where would you say you are because it’s very different training on your own and keeping fit than to train with the team?

KT: For me, my fitness is tough because I was training with Wits FC that play in the SAB League because of the coaches there. They know me, they invited me to train so that I could get the fitness until I find a team. So, it happened, yeah.

DF: Your sudden exit from Orlando Pirates remains a very touchy topic. But we found out on social media that you were being released. How was that news communicated to you?

KT: That one, my brother, eish…

DF: Hmmm. Your departure must have been very different to that of a player who was just there for a season or two. That’s why we are interested to know how it was delivered to you. Did you find out like the rest of us, or were you called aside by the club’s management?

KT: They did call me aside, but for my side, I thought, okay, it is cool. But I don’t take it as like it’s good news, no. It’s bad news because I’ve been there for so long. Then I just told myself that maybe I can go start my career somewhere else where I can play. Then the experience that I got from the team, I will implement those things that I have learnt at Pirates wherever I go. And for me to get the game-time also, it will be a good thing than being on the side not playing. But I did get proper experience. I learned a lot at Orlando Pirates.

DF: How have the 14 years you spent at the club shaped you as a player and as a man?

KT: For me, I would say it was tough because in life, there’s many challenges. It taught me lots of things and how to do things when you are in a big team. How to live your life as a Pirates player was tough, especially when I was in the development. It was tough because you face a lot of things, you want to fight, to get to the first team. You are playing for a big team like Orlando Pirates. It’s a big brand, yeah. So, a lot happened, but I didn’t give up. But it was a nice experience at Orlando Pirates that I got.

DF: You ticked all the boxes from the development to the first team and even the junior national teams. The unforwhen tunate thing is that a person searches through your profile, there are no official first-team appearances. Despite you working so hard and everything you have sacrificed, how disappointing was it for you that it never came although you were so close?

KT: It was disappoi nting,butIknew that Pirates is a big team, they always bring someone who is ready to fit in. So, I knew, but I never had this thing of saying I’m not playing or what? I once told myself that my time will come. Unfortunately, I never played any single game, but at least I have been on the bench.

DF: Siyabonga Mpontshane spoke very highly of you when Soccer Ladwith uma did an interview him last year. What kind

of relationship do you share with the veteran?

KT: Siya is a good human being. I was close to him. Every day at gym, we would arrive early, go to gym before training, do gym stuff and we would go to training. We used to talk a lot, even yesterday I was talking to him. Yeah, he was encouraging me, telling me do this, do this, don’t give up, your time will come. He is a mentor.

DF: Also, how does it feel when you look at guys that you were in the development with that are now playing? A lot of people would argue that you were even ahead of them in terms of the first team because you were getting to the bench, you were training with them, but yet they are the ones that are playing in the first team now.

KT: For me, I’m very happy to see them playing. Yeah, I’m very happy. I like to watch the guys who I grew up with playing for the Orlando Pirates first team. Like, I’m happy. Even the time Ratomo (Relebohile Mofokeng) scored, I was so happy. Yeah, I am happy with them. I never had that thing of saying, ‘I’m not playing. Oh, he’s playing.’ As a goalkeeper, it takes time to play. If you are a player, at least they give you a chance.

DF: Since you were promoted in 2021, the Soweto giants have had three different sets of coaches in Josef Zinnbauer and co-coaches Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids. Coach Riveiro came in 2022. What was it like working under these coaches?

KT: I’ve learned a lot from them. I’ve learned a lot and they always motivate, especially when you are a youngster. They motivate you and they give you attention. They don’t say, ‘No, he’s not playing, we are focusing on those who are playing,’ no. They do focus on everyone. So, that’s the thing that made me to be strong the way I am today.

DF: The management that really believed in you was coach Fadlu and coach Mandla because there was a time when all of the keepers were injured and there was only one available. You were on the bench and Fadlu said you were ready if you had to be called up. What did that do for your confidence?

KT: It meant a lot. Because it’s the thing that shows that I was doing very well at training and, that time, I was playing also. I was getting gametime at MDC (MultiChoice, now DStv Diski Challenge). So, it told me that I have to work hard and I shouldn’t stop working hard. It was a motivation to me.

DF: Are there still guys at the club that you keep in touch with?

KT: Yes, there are.

DF: In the time that you were part of the first team, Pirates won a lot of trophies. We saw you in the dressing room, we saw you celebrating. How happy were you for the team despite the fact that you weren’t playing, but yet they still made you feel like a big part of it?

KT: I was happy and it motivated me in the way that one day, if I play, I wanna win a trophy while I’m playing for the team. It gave me big motivation.

DF: There’s other players coming through, like Zoey Monyepao, who’s being talked about the same way you were being talked about a few years ago. What would your advice be to him?

KT: I would say he must be very patient, work hard. His time will come, and he’s been doing very well.

DF: If there was anything you could do differently in your 14 years at the Buccaneers, what would that be? KT: For me, there was nothing to change because I was doing very well at training. When playing friendly games, I was doing well. So, I can’t go to the coach and ask why am I not playing, I’m not that type of a person. I’m someone who’s shy also, I keep things in. What I can say is that I was patient, but I was waiting for my chance to come and I was supporting the guys who were playing at the time at Pirates. What I will also say is that even the goalkeeper coach Tyrone (Damons), we used to speak every day in the morning. He never gave up on me, he was motivating me. Even now, we do speak.

DF: What’s your relationship like with Coach Riveiro? KT: The relationship we had was a good relationship. He taught me a lot of things, he improved my game a lot, yeah. There were things that I was scared to do when I’m playing and he taught me to make mistakes rather than preserving myself from doing things. I must take out everything that I have in me because I’m capable of being a good goalkeeper.