Scouts blaze a trail to Mdantsane
Ke Yona talent search heads for Sisa Dukashe
FOR the very first time Mdantsane will see the Nedbank Ke Yona Team Search hitting its shores to identify raw football talent at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium on Tuesday.
Ke Yona Team coach, Mike “Sporo” Mangena was excited to see what Buffalo City Metro had to offer as potential football stars from this part of the province have impressed him over the years.
“For the past five years we’ve been coming to Port Elizabeth and now we are looking forward to coming to East London,” Mangena said.
“It’s [Mdantsane] the second biggest township in the country and my belief is that diamonds are there [in the township] – they just need to be identified and polished and it is for that reason we are coming to Mdantsane,” said Mangena.
The former Kaizer Chiefs skipper said after he had witnessed raw talent such as Alice born-and-bred Makhosandile Plaatjie in last year’s instalment of the Nedbank Cup Ke Yone team search, he was positive they would stumble on more talent in the province.
Plaatjie did wonders during the Nedbank ke Yona Team search game against SuperSport United at Makhulong Stadium, dominating the game and creating chances for the hopefuls, who scored one goal to lose 2-1. Plaatjie received the man-of-the match award after that game.
“It’s a pity that we’ve been going to PE only in the past, because for other players it’s just too far for them.
“Some good players don’t have money for transport to come to the try-outs,” he said.
“Makhosandile had to go to PE on his own and he did exceptionally well, and I liked him a lot. I worked with him closely, he’s a talented striker, he was just unlucky he didn’t score during their game.
“And that’s the boy for me, I think if given a chance he’ll make it big and I believe there more players like him in the East London area – or even better than him. So that’s why are going to the township and we’ll see what’s going to happen.”
Mangena urged all young aspiring soccer players to come to the NU2 venue in their numbers as their dreams might soon come true and they “stand a chance of being part of something great”.
“They must not be scared, they must just come in numbers, even those that did not get an SMS confirming their registration come,” Mangena said.
“They will be given an opportunity to play and they’ll have to prove their talent to us.
“And not that I’m gloating, but the players we’ve identified have gone to the highest level in professional football in this country.
“I’m talking about Aubrey ‘Postman’ Modiba who’s played in the Olympics, played for Bafana Bafana.
“And he’s doing exceptionally well for SuperSport United as well and must he’s one the players we discovered through this talent search.
“And what Nedbank started – we wish it never stops, because there are so many players that we are going to unearth,” he said.
Mangena said looking at the teams in the Nedbank Cup final [Maritzburg United v Free State Stars] he could not wait to start preparing their own team to play them.
“We don’t have a team as yet, we are going to identify the team that will play the winner of the Nedbank Cup. But I’m not worried because it’s not difficult to identify a player, it hardly takes hours to see that a player has got the potential.
“Keep in mind that we are looking for a finished product.
“We are after potential only, and there are a number of things that will show potential, like their first touch,” Mangena said.
“Being comfortable on the ball, the decision-making will also show you that a player has what it takes,” he added. not