It was a lot of pressure for me

Now that the dust has settled and Thabiso Kutumela has moved on, it’s worth noting that his Orlando Pirates story reads like that of one Reason Chiloane. Just like the former Garankuwa United striker who top-scored in the National First Division and flattered to deceive at the Soweto giants, Kutumela did not have things going his way in the course of his stay at the club, despite having joined with a good scoring record from Baroka FC. What could have led to that state of affairs? What does he hope to achieve with his move to Maritzburg United? Most importantly, can he untangle the beleguaered club out of the quagmire? Soccer Laduma’s Celine Abrahams fired these questions, and more, at the pint-sized attacker.

Celine Abrahams: Thabiso, you guys were on the end of a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Cape Town City last Saturday, but it was a bust-up between the two clubs’ benches that caught the attention of the spectators. What happened there?

Thabiso Kutumela:

Ja, eish, things got heated in the game and I’m not sure what happened the first time when our player (Rushine De Reuck) was near their bench… that’s where the fight started. Our player got sent off and one of City’s technical members I think (Rayaan Jacobs), and then another fight happened in the tunnel. There was a lot going on because each team wanted to protect their people.

CA: Do you think the two teams’ coaches are not seeing eye-to-eye?

TK:

(Laughs) I would rather not say anything about that because our coach tried to stop the fights from happening. We all went there to do our job and it was not good for us to not get at least a draw in the game.

CA: Moving on, you’ve managed two goals in four league games for Maritzburg United so far. It’s not too bad a goal return!

TK:

Ja, I am enjoying myself here and everything is going well. I’m just picking myself up and trying to work on getting my fitness right, but it has been good for me and the team. We are trying not to look far from where we are but looking at each game and make sure that we get good results. We know we are in a bad situation and that we all need to save the team from relegation, and it won’t be easy. As players, we are pushing each other at training.

CA : Before we talk further about that, let’s chat about your move to the club. There were conflicting reports on your deal, with some saying it was a loan move, while others suggested it was a three-year contract. Care to clear the air for us?

TK:

I have a permanent deal with the team and people around me asked why I would sign a three-year deal with a team that is sitting at the bottom of the log and I told them that we don’t know what is going to happen in the next few games. For me, I don’t know what will happen tomorrow with my career. I came here because I want to save the team and I want to save myself too. As you know, at Orlando Pirates I wasn’t getting game-time. For the past five (in all competitions) games that I played, it was hard for me, but I was happy that I pushed myself. The technical team believes in me and that makes me want to work harder. I don’t want to let them and myself down. The club has supported me and that makes me feel good. With those two goals that I scored against Polokwane (City), that was something we had worked on at training, so the coach (Eric Tinkler) and everyone was happy with the result. Even in his post-match interview, he said the same thing about us using what we do at training in our games. These two goals make me want to score more and our team needs that so that we can win games. That’s something that we are also working on at training – our finishing. CA: Right. TK: I am the type of player that enjoys playing and scoring, (and that was the case) even before I went to Pirates. When I was at Baroka FC, I scored about 18 goals in the NFD, so I am looking forward to scoring more and gaining confidence. I am fitting in, I am starting to understand my teammates and I like the style of play here. My teammates have been good to me and that has made it easy for me to get used to life here.

CA: Coach Muhsin Ertugral brought you in… and then left after five games. How did you feel about that?

TK: I was looking forward to working with him again, but looking at the time that we have as a team to get the results, it wasn’t enough (for him). He needed time to make us understand his style of play and what he wants from his players. I could understand him because I worked with him at Pirates, but not everyone did. He is a good coach – if he had the time, maybe things would be different. It was a bit emotional for me because a lot of things start to go through your mind, like, “What if another coach comes in and does not understand me or the way that I play?” It is football, though – good coaches come and good coaches go. I just told myself that I would continue to fight.

CA: Looks like you have done it right as coach Eric has given you a chance in the starting line-up…

TK: He likes to play offensive soccer, going forward with the ball and marking, which is what I have been working on. He has given me my chance and I am grateful for that. He encouraged me to work hard and I do that, even after our training sessions, to help with my fitness, which has been a problem. I am the type of player where, if I’m not playing or training, I gain weight. I’m rebuilding myself and I think this is the right club for me to do it. I have been proving myself and I will continue to do that. Coach Eric has been good to all of us and we are learning from him. CA: Your lack of game-time at Pirates must have been disappointing considering that there was hype around your signing and what you had achieved at Baroka. TK: When I moved from a small team to a big team, there was a lot that I had to get used to. My dream came true and I saw that move as a start of good things to come for my career. I was happy that I joined Pirates and I don’t regret that choice that I made. It was a lot of pressure for me to deliver because I came from a small team and I had to prove myself against players that had more experience than me. It was something that I wasn’t used to, you understand? I tried to cope with everything, until last season where I got injured. I was coming alright, getting to play and scoring some goals until I had to go out. When I came back, the team had signed more players and the competition was tighter. It got more difficult for me to break in, but it was nice to join Pirates and get the experience of playing for a club with a good history.

CA: Did you speak to the coaches about your situation?

TK: We would always talk about our games and where we needed to improve because we used to have meetings. I think it wasn’t my time. I told myself that I would fight no matter what happened because when you play for a team like Pirates, you have to be at your best. There is always pressure to win from everyone at the club and I felt that. I got the injury on 22 February last year and the Soweto Derby was the following month. I was so stressed because I wanted to be part of that game to prove myself. I was out until May when I started training again with the physio and that was before pre-season in June. It was hard for me to get my chance, even though I was working so hard. Honestly, there were players that I was going up against that had more quality and I tried… I tried to break in, but when it’s not meant to be, then you have to move on. CA: You say it wasn’t your time… TK: There were a lot of changes happening with the team – the game models and the tactics where you had to learn a lot. It was different and not all players will… how can I say this? Err, not all players will understand, you see? That was also something that I had to learn and it was going to take time, but I was okay with learning. I learned a lot from everyone at Pirates.

CA: What was it like leading the line for a massive side like Pirates?

TK: It was tough because there’s a lot of pressure from the supporters. When you play for their team, they expect you to always score. You know in your mind that you are playing for a big club and that badge is heavy to wear because of the history and all of that. It wasn’t easy to be that target player up front because once you miss chances then people start to talk and say that you are not good enough. You have to show that you are good enough to be there in every game.

CA: When you saw a player like Thamsanqa Gabuza being booed by a certain section of the club’s fans, what went through your mind?

TK: Eish, that wasn’t nice to see. It makes you scared because you play with that fear that if you do something wrong, then the supporters will start shouting at you and calling you all names. It wasn’t nice to see that happening to Gabuza and we felt for him as his teammates because we know the kind of player that he is and what he brings to the team. For him to be treated like that was sad. We know that supporters want us to score all the time and when we don’t, they get angry, but we also get angry with ourselves when we don’t do what we’re supposed to do. It makes us play with fear when we hear supporters booing us. CA: All the best, ‘Thobejane’. TK: Ha, ha, ha, you heard about that name! Eish. Thank you.

“For him to be treated like that was sad.”