Smidt loving being back with Banyana
MAMELODI Sundowns Ladies midfielder Thalea Smidt is excited to be back in the Banyana Banyana fold for the upcoming friendly international against Zambia, seven years after receiving her last call-up.
“It's been long, so most people assume it's my first call-up. For me to get called up again is a great honour and pleasure. Every player wants to represent their national team at the end of the day. It means a lot to me. I know it won't be easy. It's difficult getting there but even more difficult staying on top,” said Smidt.
Banyana will be looking for revenge against Zambia, who consigned them to fourth place in the Cosafa Women's Championship in Gqeberha last October
“When we did our video analysis, we saw that most of their players played against the team in the Cosafa Championship.
“I was not part of that team but in 2015 I was part of the U-20 national team which played against Zambia and a lot of those players have now graduated to the Zambian national team. I have played against them before and I'm grateful for that. Even though I was not part of the team that played against them in the Cosafa tournament, the video analysis helped a lot,” said Smidt.
After a successful season with Sundowns Ladies during which they dominated domestic football and won the first ever CAF Women's Champions League in Cairo last November, Smidt will now be looking to fully establish herself within the Banyana squad with a view to becoming a first-team regular.
She realizes that her experiences from the past season will give her the knowledge to achieve that pursuit.
“The last season was one of growth and maturity. It involved a lot of growth as a player and team player. I had great exposure and bigger challenges from playing in South Africa
and against the best teams in Africa.
“Most of the teams that we played against had national team players. For Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies as a team, it's good for us to get players ready at not just a South African level but also at African level.
“A lot of players from the club are in the team and we had good preparation for national team level,” said Smidt.