George Lebese
The former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder enjoyed a solid first season in the United States and is looking forward to building on that performance.
Having enjoyed his first taste of football on foreign soil last year, former Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns star George Lebese is looking to hit new heights with Colorado Springs Switchbacks this season. The Bafana Bafana midfielder is currently in limbo while he awaits his new visa, which has been delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but sat down with KICK OFF’s Liam Bekker to reflect on life in the United States ahead of his eventual return to the country.
After spending the previous 11 seasons in the Premier Soccer League with Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United, Lebese made his first move abroad in December 2019 when he was snapped up as free agent by USL Championship side Colorado Springs Switchbacks, who at the time were coached by fellow South African Alan Koch.
Lebese’s arrival in Colorado was met with a sense of widespread excitement by the club’s supporters, with Koch backing the Bafana Bafana midfielder to become an important player for the team.
“George is a player that we are incredibly excited about,” the former FC Cincinnati boss said at Lebese’s unveiling. “He is in need of a fresh opportunity after many years of success in the South African Premier League. We look forward to supporting him and helping get his confidence back.
“When George is flowing, the team is flowing. He is going to be an integral part of our new-look team and he has the ability to unlock the opposition’s defense through his vision and passing ability.”
However, things did not go entirely to plan as it proved to be a difficult campaign for both club and player, with Switchbacks struggling to hit top form during the COVID-19 interrupted season.
Following an enforced break to the competition in March, the league was restructured into eight separate groups based on the clubs’ respective geographical locations, with Lebese
& co. drawn in arguably the toughest pool alongside El Paso Locomotive, New Mexico United and Real Monarchs.
The Colorado-based outfit ultimately ended third in their group after managing just two wins all season, while Lebese chipped in with a respectable personal contribution of two goals and two assists from 16 appearances.
Koch subsequently left the club at the end of the season in order to head up a new project with FC Edmonton in Canada, and was replaced by Brendan Burke, but the club sought to retain the services of the former Amakhosi winger. Lebese now faces a nervous wait to see if he will be granted a visa in time for the start of the new season, with the US currently prohibiting flights from South Africa as a result of a unique Covid-19 variant, but he is nonetheless looking forward to
improving his and his side’s fortunes in 2021 when he is finally able to board his flight.
“I have spoken to the new coach since he got the job,” the three-time PSL winner says. “He reached out to some players and I happened to be one of them and, from the philosophy that he’s trying to instill in the team and the kind of players that he brought in, I feel like we have a good chance of competing against the top teams and doing better than we did last year.
“I’m very excited to get back on the pitch and I’m looking forward to it. Like I said, we’ve got a stronger squad so competition is going to be tough, but it’s good for the team because we’re trying to better what we did last year. So, I’m very excited for this challenge and to meet with the guys and work on improving how we finished last year.”
Lebese is also critical when reflecting on his own struggles in 2020, which
“THIS SEASON IS MORE PERSONAL FOR ME.”
he attributes in part to the inevitable acclimatation period which comes with moving to a new country, but is using that as motivation to rediscover his best form for the upcoming season, which is proposed to commence towards the end of ApriApril or start of May.
“Thhis season is more personal for me,”” he states. “When I look at how I peerformed last year, I was not too pleeased about it because I expected too do more. There were a lot of faactors that contributed towards tthat, and I don’t want to make eexcuses, but it was my first year oout of the country. I had to adapt too the weather, which was very chhallenging, and at some point I eveen thought of coming back home!” Le bese laughs as he recalls that periodp in time. “But yeah, I had to go through all that. Both the coach and the assistant coach [Kyle Timm], who were at the club last year, were South African-born so they helped me
adapt because they understood my situation, but this season is a little more personal for me now.
“Obviously, the team comes first but I want to see myself doing well, I want to get my numbers up, get more playing time and get the team winning. I’ve been working very hard to get my body into the shape I want it to be in for me to be able to compete, and so far, it’s been going very well.”
‘George Lebese, are you kidding me!?’
While it was not all plain sailing for Lebese during his debut season abroad, the skillful winger still managed to play his part in helping his side claim a small piece of USLC history.
On 27 August 2020, with Switchbacks having trailed by four unanswered goals to rivals Austin Bold at half-time, the 32-year-old popped up a sensational long-ranged effort in the dying minutes of the match to help the club complete an historic comeback.
Cutting in from the edge of the box, Lebese bisected two of the opposition’s defenders before rifling home an unstoppable effort past the outstretched arms of Bold goalkeeper Diego Restrepo, with his strike later earning him the club’s coveted Goal of the Season award.
“In that game I was given more of a freerole playing behind the striker,” he reflects. “I just happened to find myself on the righthand side of the pitch so I had to first look at the option of trying to cut in on my stronger left foot and when that happened, there was a lot of space in front of me.
“Because we were losing the game at half time by four, we just told ourselves we have nothing to lose in the second half, so I just took a shot. I saw the ‘keeper was a bit out of position and then I took the shot and it went in, and yeah, it was good for the team because we managed to come back from four goals down and level it.”
Lebese’s golazo, which followed an earlier assist
“IT DIDN’T SIT WELL WITH THE COACH, SO I WAS SUBBED OFF.”