Justin Shonga
After his time at Orlando Pirates ended in disappointment, Zambia international Justin Shonga is hoping for a fresh start with freescoring Cape Town City.
Justin Shonga is hoping a fresh start at Cape Town City can revive his fortunes and get along him to fulfill the rich potential that many believe he has. City are among the most attacking sides in the Premier Soccer League and so look a perfect fit for the Zambia international, who saw his career stutter at Orlando Pirates and most recently had a brief spell with troubled TTM. He tells KICK OFF’s Nick Said of his future ambitions and how the memory of his special Soweto Derby goal still makes him smile. KICK OFF: What was your initial reaction when you head about the interest from Cape Town City, especially as you had only recently moved clubs from Orlando Pirates to TTM?
Justin Shonga: I first heard about it in the beginning of December. When I knew they wanted me to come I felt excited because Cape Town City is a good club, a big club. They have won trophies before. The team is very good and plays nice football. I really felt like the club would suit me and that I would learn a lot from playing here, given the experience they have in the squad and also the technical team. When I heard about it I immediately thought this would be a good move for me.
The way Cape Town City sets up to play should complement your own style of football …
They play possession football, they have got clever players. I cannot say that other clubs don’t have clever players, of course they do, but the maturity that is here in this squad is amazing. It is very different from a team like TTM, where there are good players, but maybe not the same experience in the PSL. The Cape Town City players have had more time in this league and are matured, so for me coming in I also had to get up to speed quickly with them, which I think I have done.
How have you settled in Cape Town because it is no secret that some players who have previously been at clubs in Gauteng or Limpopo battle with the adjustment of moving to the coast?
Cape Town is a very good place to live and I’m enjoying the training. The way the guys welcomed me was really nice. There is a real football culture here, it is quite amazing to see. It is a proper football club. It also really helps that I have played with a few of the guys before [at Orlando Pirates], like Abbubaker Mobara and Mpho Makola. So they immediately made me feel at home, along with the other guys. I have really enjoyed the training sessions, they are very interesting, and it is now just about making myself aware of what the coach [Jan Olde Riekerink] wants
from me. It was great to make my debut against Black Leopards, it felt really good.
What are your first impressions of Olde Riekerink?
I’m really excited to be working with him, he is a good coach. He is like a parent, he talks to you nicely and he pushes you in training. He wants us to work hard and really wants to win, which I like. It’s been very good to learn from him and I know there is so much more I can learn in the future too.
There is another Zambian in the Cape Town City squad in winger Charles Zulu, is he someone you have played with a lot before?
I’ve played with Charles before in the junior national teams, the Under-17s and Under20s. He is a very good player. Very good. I do feel happier having one of my countrymen in the team again, it just helps when someone knows you and knows where you come from. When they can understand your background and your life. It was the same at Pirates when I had [Augustine] Mulenga and Austin Muwowo. Having your guys around you
“I WAS APPROACHED BY A FEW TEAMS, BAROKA AND MAMELODI SUNDOWNS WERE TWO.”
makes it feel a little bit like home and that is important I think. It is another thing that has helped me to settle.
What do you see as your best position on the pitch, the one you feel most comfortable playing?
I like to play as a second striker, but I think I can play in a few different positions. A number 10, a number nine or even a false nine. I like being mobile on the pitch. If I don’t score then the next option I should have is to create. I prefer to be more central than to play out wide. I feel like I can influence the game more in that [central] position.
Have you set yourself any targets for the second half of the season?
For this season I can’t say much, I can’t promise anything because I just want to see how this season ends and then pick it up from there. I was not settled at all, and the previous season I did not have much gametime either [at Pirates], so I just want to pick myself up and get back to the Justin Shonga I know I can be. That means learning to fit into the new team. We will see how this season ends and I can then start setting goals and targets from there.
You come from quite a famous footballing family in Zambia, you almost had no choice but to become a professional player!
Yes, that is true [laughs]. My father, Justin Shonga snr, was a footballer at top clubs Zesco United and City of Lusaka, and I was also inspired by my older brothers John, Lazarous and Matthews, who are also footballers. I used to follow them whenever they played. We are nine in my family in all. I followed them and that is how I grew up, we were just a big football family and I was inspired so much by my father and my brothers.
Tell us about your path to the PSL?
When I was young I joined an academy called Smiley Kids, which was sponsored by some people in Germany. I think they saw something in me and they said, ‘you are so talented, let us help to groom you’. So from there I moved to the capital [Lusaka] and started playing for the police outfit [Nkwazi FC]. Then I went to [top-flight side] Kabwe Warriors and played for a year. But I got a bad injury and I had to go back home. So I sat down with Mum and Dad and to see what to do next. When I was fit again I returned to Nkwazi in Lusaka and everything just clicked. I only played for six months that season but I scored a lot of goals and from there I was called to the national team. In the national team I had to work extra hard, I came here [to South Africa] to play in the COSAFA Cup and after that I was approached by a few teams, Baroka and Mamelodi Sundowns were two. But the ones who were quickest to offer me a contract was Orlando Pirates. That’s how I ended up moving to Johannesburg. The [2017] COSAFA OSAFA was so important for me, the competitio on is like this exposure. It allows other clubs s from all over to watch you. Obviously not all Zambia Super League games are televised on SuperSport, so when
I came to play COSAFA I felt like the limelight was now on me and I had to show myself. I had to show what I was made of. It was an opportunity I had to take and give it my all.
You moved to Pirates ahead of the 2017/18 season, what was your immediate impression of PSL football?
It was a big step up, because the style of play and the speed at which the game is being played is different to the Zambia Super League. Obviously then you have things like the pitches, which are nice here in South Africa. The pitches back home … we were used to them and they were better [than before]. But when I got here I had to adapt to the style of play and I could feel the difference.
You scored the winning goal in the Soweto Derby against Kaizer Chiefs when Pirates claimed a 2-1 victory in the Telkom Knockout in 2018 …
Oh yeah … it was such an emotional match and the goal … I really wanted to score in the Soweto Derby because I had been following South African football for so many years and I had watched so many Soweto Derbies. I knew what scoring in such a match meant. And at the time I was creating a lot of chances for my teammates like [ Thembinkosi] Lorch and [Luvuyo] Memela, but people were saying, ‘he is not scoring, he is not doing well’. So scoring in the Derby … yoh, it was something nice and exciting. I was quite emotional about it. It was my favourites goal so far in the PSL, that one and against Chippa United [in February 2018] when I blasted it from a tight angle. That one was also very special.
Did you have a favourite PSL team before you came to South Africa?
No, I would not say I had a favourite team, but like I said, I watched the Soweto Derby and it was just really interesting. I did used to follow Pirates quite a bit when they had [Zambian midfielder] Isaac Chansa in the team. I just used to follow the Zambians in the league.
Your first two seasons at Pirates seemed to go well for you, but in the third you barely played. What do you believe went wrong for you there?
I can’t put my finger on what happened. In football, when you are doing good, you must always know that there is a stage in the future when you will have to face difficulties. That is the game. But I have always believed that when you fall, it is more about how you dust yourself and raise up to keep going again. But if you ask me what went wrong for me at
Pirates, there is nothing that I can say, ‘it was this or that’. It was just football.
Your move to TTM in October came a little bit out of the blue, were you surprise by it?
I did feel at the time that I wanted to go somewhere and try something else. I had some plans of my own, but when you are told by Pirates that you must go this side [to TTM], you just have to obey it. They are the people who brought me here [to the PSL] so I had no option but to go there. But you know, I got to dust myself off, I had some game-time and for me it was about then looking forward.
You are still only 24, do you see yourself as a contender to one day make the move to Europe?
It is every child’s dream to go and play in Europe, but Cape Town City is home for now. Everywhere you go in football you have to make it home. But I want to express myself here, I want to push myself to the limit and see where that limit is for me. If I can do that, then I can say, ‘OK, let’s see now what is the next step’. But ultimately, if they want to sell me to Europe, that is up to the owner of the club [John Comitis]. I have seen a lot of Cape Town City players have gone to Europe and it is one of the best teams [in South Africa] in terms of doing that. Obviously I have a dream to play in there but I know I must work hard and then maybe one day I can.
Do you draw inspiration was players like Patson Daka and Enock Mwepu, who are your national teammates and excelling in Europe at Red Bull Salzburg?
Yes, we have played together in the national team and what they have achieved overseas is a big inspiration, not just for me but also a lot of other Zambian players. It is great to see your countrymen doing well. Patson is scoring goals and playing good football, Mwepu is also doing very well. In fact, there are several of my friends there that I played with in the Zambia Under-20 team which went to the [2017] World Cup. I had an injury so I did not go to the tournament … that was my bad luck. Guys like Edward Chilufya, Fashion Sakala and Emmanuel Banda, I am so happy for them. But you know, God blesses us differently, today it is their time, tomorrow it might be mine. It is just a matter of me giving them support. I am so excited that they are there and I want to be where they are. My time will come, it is one of my dreams to play in the [UEFA] Champions League.
“I WANT TO EXPRESS MYSELF HERE, I WANT TO PUSH MYSELF TO THE LIMIT AND SEE WHERE THAT LIMIT IS FOR ME.”