Lebo Mothiba
The Bafana Bafana striker is coming back from a serious knee injury but is ready to hit the ground running and score more goals than ever before.
Bafana Bafana striker Lebo Mothiba looked poised to develop into the nation’s next talisman after scoring four goals in his first five caps whilst finding the net 12 times and winning the Coupe de La Ligue with Racing Club Strasbourg in France. But injuries slowed down his progression, resulting in a dip in form since his incredible 2018/19 breakthrough season. The 24-year-old has since gone under the knife to finally heal the tendons in his knee and nearly 10 months later, he’s ready to return to the pitch with the promise of reaching new heights. KICK OFF’s Lorenz Köhler caught up with the striker to find out about his recovery process, lockdown in France and his ambitions in Ligue 1.
KICK OFF: Thank you for speaking to us Lebo. Your first season with RC Strasbourg after leaving LOSC Lille was memorable, 12 goals, the Coupe de la Ligue success and regular game-time in one of Europe’s top-five leagues. How frustrating have your injuries been knowing how it’s prevented your progression?
Lebo Mothiba: Having an injury, it’s a setback but you have to come back stronger. I think I will do even better than I did in my first season with Strasbourg when I get back [to the pitch]. Scoring goals is not the problem, you just have to come back fitter, stronger and play without pain. That’s the most important thing because I played with pain in my knees and it would hurt during warm-ups and going in for challenges. When I was scoring all those goals I played through a lot of pain. So just imagine when I’m 100 percent fit, no pain, I can jump, I can change direction easily – it’s going to be a different Lebo.
How are you feeling right now, how is the recovery after the surgery?
Very well, I’m honestly feeling very good. Some training sessions and exercises I still feel a little pain but that’s normal because it’s a tendon which takes some time to heal. But so far so good because I’ve started to run outside already and playing, doing small sessions with the ball also. I’m working really hard in the gym but for most of the time, I do squats and the bicycle just to strengthen my thighs, legs and improve balance. I’m very happy with the progress I’ve made.
Tell us about your lockdown experience. Ligue 1 was the only top league that was cancelled during the 2019/20 season …
Playing football and going to the stadium is life for us and I’m here in Europe because of this, to be a footballer. So being in the house all day, not playing, not being able to go outside and run and touch the ball – it can be frustrating. But for me to keep going in my free time I was always drawing, I’m an artist, I can draw that’s how I used to pass my time, or speak with some South African players. The ones I speak to a lot to are Tiyani Mabunda and Buhle Mkhwanazi. ‘Shuga’ is one guy who can motivate you and push you. Him and Buhle I speak to a lot, and also [ Thembinkosi] Lorch. I did a lot of exercises to keep myself fit and yes PlayStation, I played online against my friends. FIFA and Call Of Duty. Yeah, that was it, my lockdown experience in France.
We didn’t realise you were that close to Lorch, he’s usually such a quiet guy? Do you follow his games at Orlando Pirates?
Myself and Lorch are very close, a lot of people don’t know that, we spoke a lot over video calls. He’s a really nice guy, he likes to laugh around and makes jokes with me. There in South Africa, I watch [Mamelodi] Sundowns, because I was there when I was young, like Under-10 to Under-13, and Pirates because of Lorch. Kaizer Chiefs; I also enjoy because you know Mzansi’s number one [laughs] – that’s it.
What’s your personal ambitions with Strasbourg for the 2020/21 season when you come back?
The start of January I’ll be back training with the group, depending on the recovery process. Perhaps February I’ll be playing in the league, but it depends, maybe I will come off from the bench for 10 minutes here and there unless the team is struggling and I will be needed to play immediately and banging those goals. My targets as a striker is to score goals and I want to beat that 10 [Ligue 1] goals I scored in my first season here. I can score more, I just need to be 100 percent fit so I can help the team and beat my personal record.
Bongani Zungu tells me you guys developed a brotherly bond since he moved to France with Amiens, but he’s left now. Who have you gravitated towards now in terms of the South African contingent?
All of them, but the one who I speak with most is Lebo Phiri because you know he’s injured too, he had a bad injury with his knee and I’ll see him soon when we doing rehabilitation at the same place. But Zungu, he’s the one who sends me that motivational messages because he’s the one with the experience, he’s older than me and has experienced more. He genuinely wants to see me succeed, so when we are talking, he only speaks facts and puts me in line. With Keagan Dolly it’s very different, we laugh a lot and joke around, but we push each other too, like identifying areas where we can do better. Phiri is an everyday thing, we call each other, we play PlayStation against each other, we’re closer because our parents know and see each other too.
You’re one of the few South Africans who moved abroad at a young age, how have you managed to settle so well away from home and your family?
Once you set goals for yourself and know what you want to achieve, you just work hard and wait for the opportunity to come. I took it when I was young, yes, it’s tough without the family and being far away. But it’s a career and that’s what brings food to the table so you have to respect it and be professional, you need to always set goals and say I want to see myself here in five years’ time. So that’s when you start pushing your limits. It honestly wasn’t easy when I got here because I couldn’t speak the language. And training? Wow... In South Africa, I’m telling you, they are good with technical ability but compared to this? Training sessions are like war, players shout and swear at each other, they fight in training. When I first got here I couldn’t understand what was happening as they swear at each other, it was frustrating for me, the aggression and the way they played but as time went by I adapted to the style of play, training and understanding the language. That’s why now I enjoy this style more than when I come to the national team, South Africans are very good with the ball at their feet so I learn a lot there, but without the ball is where Europeans [are better].
What was the point of no return for you when you said, ‘I don’t want to play club football in the PSL’?
It was at Diambars in the academy, the one that started in Senegal. When I got there my goal was to play abroad. When I looked at their style of play compared to South Africa, it interested me more, I hold the ball up for the midfield, I make runs behind the defence. For me, I saw that I suit Europe more. So that’s what I worked towards, I started changing the way I play, one touch, two touch, hold up, give the ball and making runs and when I got the opportunity to [come to France], I said yeah this is where I’m going to stay and play. So when I arrived here for trails [at Lille] I gave everything, the first game I scored a brace and that was it.
Journalists in France rate you very highly and see you as one of the top strikers in Ligue 1 with potential to go far, and you mention you can easily score more than 10 goals and they see it as well. What is it about Strasbourg and Lille that makes you fit in easily?
The football here in France in quicker than in South Africa. You know, once the keeper gives the defence the ball it’s forward to the winger and yeah it’s always forward quickly. The strikers in the game, you get many opportunities to score, more than there in South Africa where it’s slower. You make 10 or 12 runs and you only get the ball twice, and those balls you get are next to the box. Here also, the way the coach speaks to you is methodical, we sit together in a room and study videos, the way we run through them and then from there we go onto the field. And the things the coach shows us in the videos is what we do in games, those runs at the far post or near post are instructed to us and then the coach tells the rest of the team where to put the ball for the strikers. So they know where to pass and where to cross, and we as strikers know where to be and where the ball will come for us to score goals. Once the ball is on the wing, we know it’s one-touch or an immediate cross. So we do this in training all the time and on matchday, it’s faster and quicker, things become instinctive, you enjoy it even more.
“TRAINING SESSIONS ARE LIKE WAR, PLAYERS SHOUT AND SWEAR AT EACH OTHER, THEY FIGHT IN TRAINING.”
You seem to enjoy the physical and aggressive side of French football, is British football the next step, having been linked with Watford in the past?
I just need to come back and play after this injury and give everything on the pitch, and then we’ll see. Once I’m 100 percent and banging in those goals then anything is possible and in football, you know, things move quickly...
How far do you think Bafana Bafana can go in terms of AFCON and FIFA World Cup aspirations based on the young talent you have seen coming through?
Some players in Europe don’t even have the talent of the South African players with the ball at their feet. The only thing that is missing is they [South Africans] are not mentally strong in terms of challenges and professionalism. Here in Europe, the lifestyle, what they eat, what time they go to sleep, training sessions, what you need to eat before training. What you eat and do after training too. That is the only difference, the professionalism of players, that is what brings food on the table, it’s our life and players need to respect it more. If you respect football, remain professional and focus, then things can go to plan. If you want to reach the elite level, you need to change the way you live, once you disrespect your body and stop going out late at night and eating junk food, things change, you won’t get as many injuries too and develop quicker. Sometimes I miss the South African food but this is what needs to change to reach the top level.
Percy Tau is now eight goals ahead of you for Bafana Bafana...
I saw, I’m relaxed, there’s no pressure, those goals I will bang like nobody’s business when I come back. But I have to start talking a lot, speaking to the midfielders. I can’t say shout like here, but you know... here this is what I do, I shout at midfielders when I make those runs and if they don’t give me the ball I turn back and say, ‘hey I made the run, you didn’t give it to me, I made another run, you didn’t give me, what’s your problem?’. I need to be more like that [with Bafana]. I make those runs all the time to make space for Percy and ‘Mshishi’ [ Themba Zwane] but I haven’t been getting the chances for myself. Luther [Singh], is a good player too, I like his style of play, there’s a lot of potential for our attack now that I think about it. Lyle Foster too, what a striker. Hes He’s young but he’s big, he can take on play ers, he can hold the ball too.
W What have you made of Percy since train ning with him at the national team?
Hee’s a really good player, always full of confidence, sometimes in training and games he will tell me, ‘give me the ball I’m going to take them on’. That is the kind of confidence Percy has and I like playing with him because he is vocal and we can complement each other well with the contrasting styles of play. I’m very happy he’s doing well but I know there’s a lot more to come from him. I’m also happy Dolly is comming back because he’s a talent. He’s too good that guy, it’s just the style of play this side [in France] perhaps doesn’t suit him well. With him, he just needs to get the ball in advanced areas to finish. Lebo [Phiri] is also recovering well man, he’s like N’Golo Kante here in France, box-to-box and his passses? He’s a general! I’m happy with the team we have, we can qualify for AFCON and the World Cup if we are all on the same page, fit and give 100 percent.
“WE CAN QUALIFY FOR AFCON AND THE WORLD CUP IF WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, FIT AND GIVE 100 PERCENT.”