‘I am an easy person to come to because I listen to people’
CAPE TOWN CITY have always maintained that the “team” is the axis around which they have hinged their successful debut campaign in the PSL. But, if there’s one individual who epitomises this self-effacing, unselfish commitment to the whole, it’s veteran right-back Vincent Kobola.
And, to emphasise just how highly his leadership and counsel are to the City squad, it was no surprise when Kobola was awarded the Most Valuable Player gong at the Cape club’s end-of-season awards last Friday.
Club chairman John Comitis revealed that, during his regular one-on-one interviews with the players, when he asked them who they turned to during times of need or difficulty, virtually all of them replied: “Vincent Kobola”. It’s a ringing endorsement of the player’s standing in the City squad.
Because as much as the sport of football revolves around the regular injection of fresh, young talent, it’s just as important that it is balanced with seasoned, experienced campaigners.
In every dressing-room, there is a sage, old head who players can turn to for advice and guidance. He’s a senior player who has the respect of the players, not just for the way he carries himself but also for his unselfish commitment to the team. In the City squad, 32-year-old Kobola is that man.
City head into their final PSL fixture on Saturday when they are in the Limpopo Province to take on Polokwane City (3pm kickoff ) – and, even though Kobola is again likely to be on the bench, you can rest assured that he will be the most vocal in supporting and urging the team in its bid to finish the season in second position. Saturday Ajax Cape Town v Baroka FC (Cape Town Stadium); Polokwane City v Cape Town City; Kaizer Chiefs v Bidvest Wits; SuperSport United v Platinum Stars; Golden Arrows v Orlando Pirates; Free State Stars v Chippa United; Maritzburg Utd v Bloemfontein Celtic; Highlands Park v Mamelodi Sundowns
In truth, it has been a difficult campaign for Kobola. When he made the decision to join the rest of the Mpumalanga Black Aces squad in relocating to the Mother City – after Comitis purchased the franchise to establish the new Cape club – Kobola was the team’s skipper and he was the likely first-choice for the rightback position.
He had certainly earned his stripes during his many years in the PSL, having played for Moroka Swallows, Jomo Cosmos, University of Pretoria and Black Aces before embarking on the City adventure. But things were to change quickly for Kobola, as it so often happens in football.
City coach Eric Tinkler was desperate to push Lebogang Manyama, to challenge a player who had been playing below potential, so he handed him the captain’s armband, relegating Kobola to vice-captain. (And we all know that it turned out to be an inspired decision).
Soon after, Tinkler signed Thamsanqa Mkhize, with the intention of using the player as cover across the four defensive positions. Kobola started off the season performing consistently at right-back – but, when he was rested, and Mhize given an opportunity, it changed even more drastically. Mkhize played out of his skin and Kobola struggled to get back in.
Throughout, though, the respected and admired 32-year-old has always been there, fully behind the team. The fact that he had lost his position wasn’t a big deal – for him, it was still about the team and he’s been a rock-like presence behind the scenes in supporting and guiding his teammates.
So, when Kobola walked up to receive his MVP award last week, it led to the biggest cheer of the evening, with everybody fully aware of the influential and critical role he has played as the senior statesman in this City squad.
“The award comes as a reward from my teammates as a sign of how we are together,” said Kobola. “We all complement each other and I am just happy to be there to encourage them all the time.
“I am an easy person to come to because I listen to people. I know how to get them to open up, so I am able to give them advice based on my previous experiences, and I’ve used that to assist my teammates.”
For City, a third-place finish in the PSL is guaranteed, but there is the possibility that they can go one better. In essence, the Capetonians need to defeat Polokwane on Saturday and hope that, at the same time, Mamelodi Sundowns stumble in their fixture against Highlands Park.
“It has been an incredible season,” said Kobola. “We deserve to be where we are because of the hard work we have put in as a team. We had an opportunity to win the league title, but unfortunately could not. But we humbled ourselves, continued to focus on our performances and will accept where we finish. It’s still a great feeling for all of us, though, and we are grateful for everything we have achieved this season.
“Polokwane will be a tough game on Saturday. But we will just focus on what we have to do, which is to get the three points. In that way, we can finish the season off on a high. The guys just have to give it their all, and then I am sure the result will speak for itself.” THABO SENONG admitted that it will take a huge helping of luck for his side to progress to the last 16 of the Fifa Under-20 World Cup, after they suffered their second defeat in Group D yesterday against Italy in Suwon, South Korea.
Goals by Riccardo Orsolini and Andrea Favilli in either half of the match were enough to see the Italians secure their first win of the tournament, after having gone down 1-0 in their first match against Uruguay three days earlier.
According to the rules of the tournament, only four best third-place finishers from the six groups participating in this global showpiece will automatically join the 12 teams which qualify for the last 16 by finishing first or second in their respective groups.
And though Amajita are yet to register their first win of the World Cup, having lost 2-1 to Japan in their first group match, coach Senong said he hoped his side would give a final solid performance in what is a must-win encounter for them against Uruguay on Saturday.
“We are obviously disappointed because we wanted to win and that did not happen,” Senong said. “We conceded from a penalty which placed us under pressure, and also we couldn’t find an equaliser going to the half-time break. In the second period, lapses of concentration got to us and we conceded another goal from a throw-in.
“We are not too worried about what will happen in the knockout stages,” Senong added. “Our focus is now set on our next game, which is against Uruguay. Even if we win that match, we still have to rely on what will happen in other groups in terms of us going through (to the knockouts). We just need to give it our all in our last game and hopefully luck will be on our side.”
Senong, however, admitted that his side were lax against the Italians, adding they were too slow getting the ball up front, each time they pressed forward on attack. Asked why was that the case, Senong said: “We wanted to play a quick passing game, but unfortunately we were too slow on the day. We failed to produce those type of plays each time we had the ball. With the type of physique the Italians have, we knew that we had to play with less contact against them, mainly because we understood that they were going to beat us in that area.”
“All of our attackers worked hard to give us what we wanted on the pitch,” Senong added. “Liam (Jordan) worked hard in terms of trying to win the first balls up front.
“I have to admit that we didn’t create many chances for him and that’s why we decided to bring on someone new (Kobamelo Kodisang) after the hour mark.
“Our key focus is to now to try and work on (the players’) confidence and try to play much better football when we meet Uruguay. And we’ll see what happens afterwards.”