LUNGA’S PARTNER IN CRIME
The flair that has for long defined Lamontville Golden Arrows’ game has been evident this term as they sit comfortably among the pack that has been seeking to chase leaders Mamelodi Sundowns. Noticeable for Arrows has been Pule Mmodi. Though only his first season playing in the PSL, Mmodi has gone about his duties in attacking spaces on either flank with so much ease that it has caught the eye.
“I am just here doing what I have always been doing everywhere I have played. Mine is to work hard for the benefit of the team,” he notes.
As exciting as his skills might look, Mmodi is a late bloomer who toiled long and hard to eventually get his PSL breakthrough past his 27th birthday.
After school, Mmodi spent three years in the Free State Stars’s MultiChoice Diski Challenge team and their feeder side playing in the amateur leagues, but left frustrated and headed out to ABC Motsepe League club Mangaung United of Bloemfontein from where he was spotted by Uthongathi.
“At Free State Stars, a friend of mine used to play there so he invited me to come and try out there and I was selected. I then left because I could see that I will never be promoted to the first team and went to Mangaung because they are a team that always wins the [Motsepe] league and goes to the Play-Offs.
“I decided on Uthongathi because their chairman, coach, assistant coach and goalkeeper coach were all there at the PlayOffs, so I knew I was wanted by everyone,” says Mmodi.
Two seasons into his stay in the First Division, AmaZulu, Maritzburg United and Golden Arrows were all lining up for his services and he joined the latter.
“I felt Arrows’ style suited me, considering how I also play. I knew that I would fit in here better than at all the other teams in Durban who were keen on me. All the PSL teams from KZN used to watch our home games, while we also used to play friendlies
against them,” he notes.
Already 27 by the time he was signed by Arrows, some would have dismissed him as being too old, but he was never discouraged. “I could have never given up on this dream to play in the PSL as long as I was playing football and making the progress that I was making in the lower leagues. I always knew that I would ultimately get to the PSL, regardless of how old I was.
“I was more focused on doing what I had to do, which was to play football, rather than when I would get through. For me age doesn’t count if you are working hard towards what you want. I don’t know why we are so obsessed with age instead of the performance in football.
“I have never stressed myself about my age because there are players in their late 30s still playing in the PSL. This shouldn’t be about your age but rather how you look after your body and how you respect your job. “Those who started in the PSL aged 17, where are they now? Are they still playing now? At times, if you are not ready then you must wait patiently because it is only the Almighty that knows when your time will come.
“You can play in the PSL at 17 but if you are not ready then you will not survive long enough to be still playing after 10 years. I have come into the PSL older, mature and knowing what I want,” says Mmodi, who hails from the Free State town of Theunissen.
His first season in the PSL has had goals, assists, regular time and even a red card, which forced him out for two games – the only time he has been absent for Arrows. “I can’t complain at all because I have been playing. My target has always been to keep my performance at a consistently high level and considering the position that I play, there definitely must be assists and goals in my game.
“If you are scoring and assisting, it is normal that people will start taking notice of your game and start following you.”