Kgatlana to lead from the front
With Ellis placing a premium on goals, striker will be dashing for goal in friendlies
WHEN Thembi Kgatlana returns to the United States to resume her career at Houston Dash after the two Banyana Banyana friendlies against the Netherlands and Sweden, there will be something amiss.
Not only has her national captain Janine van Wyk’s journey at the Texas-based team reached its conclusion, but Kgatlana’s long-time mentor Vera Pauw’s contract has also run its course.
Pauw plucked Kgatlana from the school benches to debut for Banyana while still a teenager and also gave “Pikinini” her first taste of professional football at the Dash.
With Kgatlana’s star now having risen to unprecedented heights – she is the current holder of the CAF Women’s Player of the Year and Goal of the Year trophies – it is no surprise that the former University of the Western Cape star credits the Dutch coach for playing a massive role in her achievements, and particularly for transforming her career by switching her from a wider role to a more centralised striker position.
“Coming into Banyana at the tender age of 18, I got to grow up as a player. It was a tough journey. I was still doing my Matric and I had to choose between school and Banyana. I chose both of them. I went to university and focused on both of them,” Kgatlana said.
“But 2018 was a big year for me. I signed my first professional contract with Houston. Coach Vera gave me an opportunity. She gave me the same opportunity with Banyana when I was still a teenager. She really had a good impact on me, switching me from a winger to a striker, and I think that has given me confidence.”
Kgatlana will be central to South Africa’s chances in the two upcoming friendlies, particularly with coach Desiree Ellis placing an emphasis on the strikers being more clinical in front of goal in the build-up to the Fifa World Cup in France later this year.
Kgatlana is relishing the responsibility, especially due to the fact that she is aware of the public expectation after her star-studded performances at Awcon in Ghana last year. Kgatlana banged home five goals, including a spectacular volley against Nigeria, to drive Banyana Banyana to second place and qualification for France.
“I am still overwhelmed. But I am still the same Thembi, nothing different about me, even though I have been given this title of African Women Player of the Year. I mean it is a privilege. It hasn’t sunk in yet. But I want to keep it simple and stay focused on the World Cup. That’s what I have ahead of me,” she said.
“The African Goal of the Year award is a motivation for me. I will be using it now going forward. I will try to focus on my consistency. Often when you feel like you have achieved something, you feel like you have made it. But there is more to achieve. I wake up everyday and tell myself that I have to be better than I was yesterday.”