‘Nodada is the player of the future for SA football’

THABO NODADA is one of the young guns striking a pose for Cape Town City.

The diminutive midfielder hasn’t looked back since joining the Mother City club from Mpumalanga Black Aces in 2016, but he had to work hard to become a first team regular.

“Thabo came to us relatively young,” said City owner John Comitis.

“What I saw was a tenacious individual who was willing to apply himself and who welcomed any advice. His first head coach was Eric Tinkler (2016/17) who felt that he wasn’t ready for first team duty.

“So he had to watch on, and while he would have been disappointed by that, he always stayed positive.

“Come the end of the season I remember Thabo issuing a statement saying that he would be ready for the 2017/18 season and that the coach wouldn’t be able to ignore him.

“Eric parted ways with us and in stepped Benni McCarthy. Thabo would get his chance and how he’s taken it.

“Right now I rate him as the player of the future for South African football,” added Comitis.

“He’s intelligent, both on and off the field, and he can play in several positions.”

City assistant coach Vasili Manousakis says Nodada is a born winner. “What a pleasure to work with him every single day. He has an unbelievable attitude, his work ethic is second to none and I could carry on and on. We’re talking about a player who is going to become a household name.

“And if Benni says he has what it takes to play in Europe, then he must be special,” said Manousakis.

Nodada, who has earned several call-ups to the national team, wants to win more trophies with City who won the MTN8 title in October.

“I’m with a club with big ambitions and I’m going to do all I can to help bring in more silverware.”