Sundowns are always looking for top quality
Dove Wome spent over six years in the PSL where he started-out at Free State Stars in 2011 before making a big move to Mamelodi Sundowns two years later. He also got to don the colours of SuperSport United and Orlando Pirates during his time in South Africa. The Togolese, who is still playing top-flight football in his country for champions ASKO, spoke with Soccer Laduma’s Mikia Kalati to reflect on his time in the PSL and why he thinks Mamelodi Sundowns will continue to dominate South African football.
Mikia Kalati: Dove, its good to hear from you. It’s been a while since you left South African shores and a lot of people don’t know that you haven’t hanged your boots yet?
Dove Wome: Thank you. It’s very nice to re-connect with my people in South Africa because I regard it as my second home after years playing in the PSL and I still follow their football a lot. I have a lot of good memories of my time in the PSL from when I started at Free State Stars, going to Sundowns, and later playing for SuperSport as well as Pirates. I’m still playing here in the Togolese Premier League for ASKO KARA FC.
MK: How did you end up playing for Free State Stars?
DW: Free State Stars scouted me when I was playing for my country during the WAFU [West African Football Union] tournament held in Nigeria in 2011. It’s our version of the COSAFA Cup. We won the tournament and Stars were so impressed that they signed mestraightaway.
MK: Free State Stars are no longer in the PSL. How special were they to you to have given you a chance to play professional football?
DW: I know t he club was sold. It was close to my heart because they were my first professional club. They treated me very well and we were blessed with the coach we had then in Steve Komphela, a very good coach that loved his players. It was always tough for Stars because they had to let go of their best players to make money and survive. The club opened doors for me to join a bigger club and I still remember how Steve would tell us before games, that our performances can earn us big contracts because when you do well, you will go earn big money at big clubs. Its very sad that the Ea Lla Koto no longer exits. Its bad for football in the province especially youngsters who have ambitions to play football.
MK: Your impressive spell with Ea Lla Koto attracted the attention of the PSL big guns and Sundowns won the race for your services?
DW: Itwasth e best option that came my way and was better than where I was. I couldn’t say no to Sundowns as a big club while I had ambitions to win trophies and have a successful career in South Africa. They had ambitions to be the best club in the PSL and do well in the continent. It was a chance for me to be a better player.
MK: Sundowns continue to dominate the PSL and have won six back-to-back titles. Can they be stopped?
DW: Sundowns anticipate the future and plan very well for what lies ahead. They are always looking for quality players. They want the best players to compete and make Sundowns the best team in the league. Other teams look for direct replacements and not the best quality to take them to new heights. I mean, some wait until the player can’t give that much, is old or is available on free transfer. Again, some of the players take too long to adapt at a new club and that is why big club s in the PSL are struggling to catch up withBafanaBa Style.
DW: CAF Champio ns League is a different ball game, an ditcomeswith a lot of travelling, where you must adapt to different weather conditions. Sometimes you must deal with the hostility of the home team. It can be a big challenge if you don’t have the experience of the continent, but Sundowns are used to that alrea dy and I don’t think it’s a problem for them. Rhulani and his coaching staff are the stude nts of the game and they are among the best tacticians in the continent. Hi s work is there for everyone to see with the Sundowns players that were in the Bafana Bafana squad at the Africa Cup of Nations. I think its time for the players to return the favour to Rhulani by winning the CAF Champions League.
MK: It must have been a dream come true to play for three of the biggest clubs in South Africa? DW:
It was a proud moment indeed and I was happy to play for those clubs because I knew that chances of winning trophies with them were very high. Such clubs have a mbitions to challenge f or trophies with every season especially the league title. So, it was my ambition to have a very successful career so th at when my career comes to an end, you have something to show for it. I enjoyed myself at all the clubs I played for here in South Africa, but I spent more years at SuperSport United and if I were to choose where I had my best time, I will go for Matsatsantsa.
MK: Do you have any regrets about your time playing in the PSL? DW:
No regrets at all because I think I did well and that is why I was able to play for such big clubs during my time in the PSL. South Africa is like my second home. I managed to win a lot of trophies during my time the re. The league title, MTN8, Nedbank
Cup and Telkom Knockout.
MK: Who are the best coaches you worked with during your time in the PSL?
DW:
I enjoyed working with Steve Komphela and Gordon Igesund and my favourite player then was (Bibo) Mpho Makola. Thuso Phala was the best teammate I had on and off the field and Morgan Gould is one of the best players I played with.
MK: You have been back playing football in Togo since 2021 after spells in Kuwait, Latvia, and Iraq. How is the league in your home country?
DW:
The league back home is very good and I’m playing for the biggest club, ASKO and we have won four league titles consecutively. We have a good chance of winning it again this season to make it five championships in a row and we are always playing in the CAF Champions League. That’s why I chose this club.
MK: How were the standards in those countries compared to the PSL?
DW:
Latvia was good because it’s in Europe and for the first time I got to play in the UEFA Cup qualifiers. Iraq, I can’t tell that much because my stay there was short and the club, I was playing for is not professional. In Kuwait, the conditions are much better though they are a small country and you do not travel a lot because all the teams are in one City. That reduces fatigue after matches because you don’t have to travel long distance to play matches. They also have good facilities and stadium.
MK: Do those three countries pay better salaries than PSL teams?
DW:
Well, I don’t know the figures of best paying teams or highest paid players in the PSL, but I know that some clubs in South Africa pay good salaries.
MK: You played for your country at the highest level – what do you make of the Africa Cup of Nations that just concluded in Cote D’voire?
DV:
A very good tournament that taught us that the battlefield has been levelled. It’s no longer about certain countries that used to dominate the tournament. I was behind Bafana because it’s my second home. I was happy with the performance of my former teammates in Ronwen Williams, Grant Kekana, Aubrey Mothiba and Teboho Mokoena. I played with them as youngsters during my time at SuperSport. It was not a surprise for me to see the way Bafana Bafana performed in Cote D’voire because South Africa has so much talent. But some people underestimated them because they don’t have a lot of players plying their trade in Europe. The influence of Sundowns players played a big part in Bafana doing well. Sundowns have been doing well in CAF competitions and it makes life easy for Bafana Bafana coach, Hugo Broos. A good example is the Bafana defence, all of them come from Sundowns and the coach does not have to do that much preparing for a match because they already know each other very well.
MK: It was surely disappointing that Togo was not part of the continental showpiece in Cote D’voire?
DW:
I was very disappointed honestly because this is the second Afcon that we failed to qualify for even though the tournament has been expanded from 16 teams to 24.
MK: You played with Emmanuel Adebayo, who is regarded one of the best players to come from Togo. How was it sharing the dressing room with him?
DW:
Sharing the dressing room with one of Africa’s legendary names was very good, a dream come true for any player. A leader that was always motivating and pushing his teammate to work hard on their craft and be disciplined.
MK: Which Bafana Bafana players impressed you at the tournament and do you think they can make the grade in big European leagues? DW:
Khuliso Mudau because I did not know about him. He is a top talent and I think he can make it to big leagues in Europe. The rest like Williams and Mokoena, I was not surprised honestly because I got to play with them for four years at SuperSport and I could tell that they are destined for great things in football. I know European clubs always want young players, which could be a huddle for some of them to get contracts in good leagues. Everyone here in Togo has been talking about Mudau. I even gave him a call to congratulate him and the team for winning bronze.
MK: You are in the twilight of your playing career. When are you hanging your boots and what are the plans for when you finally retire?
DW:
I am 33 now and I will play until my body tells me to stop and I can’t say it will be at which age. I feel good and still enjoying myself here in Togo because I won two league titles since coming back from abroad. I think I have a little coaching in me, but coaching is too much work. Its stressful and I would prefer to work as an agent, sport director or team manager. Those are the roles in football that I think would suit me.