I have so many dreams

At the start of his career, it was predicted that Ayabulela Konqobe would go on to become one of the country’s brightest stars, with big clubs such as Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs said to have shown an interest in signing the versatile player at one stage. He made a promising start as a leader in the junior national teams, but his career in the Absa Premiership did not quite go according to plan, with whispers of delinquent offfield behaviour halting his progress. After spending the first half of the current season with GladAfrica Championship side Steenberg United, the 24-year-old made a move to Europe during the January transfer window, signing a one-year deal with Ekenas IF, a second-tier club in Finland. In this interview with Soccer Laduma’s Tshepang Mailwane, the Ajax Cape Town product talks about his move, his big European dream and addresses the perception that he is a Bad Boy.

Tshepang Mailwane: Hola Aya, thanks for your time. How’s it going over there?

Ayabulela Konqobe: Life is pretty good. It’s good to be back in training and to be with the boys again, but we are not training as a full squad… it’s only six players and two coaches. It’s two different groups and we go to the gym now and again. The town I am in is not so big, so there are not a lot of cases (of the Coronavirus).

TM: How is training conducted?

AK: We are doing the same exercises, but maybe you’d have like two players at a station. There will be a bit of distance for now, but I think by the end of the month, we will be training as a full squad. We used to get programmes weekly, so I used to be in the gym in the morning and in the afternoon on the track running, doing some exercises. That’s what kept me busy, because there’s not much you can really do.

TM: Is there an indication as to when football will be back in Finland?

AK: Well, they said the Veikkausliiga, which is like the Premier League, will start on July 1, but they have not decided when our league is starting. Also, the third division is starting on June 16, so it should happen soon. The last game I played was in February.

TM: How did the move to Finland happen?

AK: Basically, I was supposed to move overseas a long time ago. There’s a close friend of mine, Raymond Pienaar… he’s a guy who has been trying to get me overseas. He tried to get me a move to Sweden, to Belgium. But every time I was supposed to make those moves, I had already signed in South Africa. The first time I had signed with AmaZulu FC and the other time I signed with Chippa (United). It came to a point where I said I might as well go and try my chances overseas and go out and see how far I can go because there are more opportunities. In club football, there is no higher level than Europe.

TM: You’ve signed a one-year deal, but is there an option to extend the contract?

AK: Yeah, there’s an option to stay longer, but also, we are trying to compete to go to the next level. There’s an option to extend, but that will also determine how my season goes. In the second division I am playing in, they only sign season deals because they are always trying to keep their squads fresh and they are trying to compete every year. So, I’ll just have to wait and see how it goes.

TM: Just give us an idea of the standard of football in Finland and how big the club you are playing for is in terms of the support it gets.

AK: I’ve played five games for the team and I’d say the level of the league is pretty tough, but I would not say they (the players) are all technically good or anything like that. But the structures and the hard work they put in makes them good players. The team I play for is in a small town, but the following around here is quite big for the team, since it’s in a small town. Yeah, I am in a good place. It’s a very good team and place to start off with, to get the confidence going for the season so that you can see where your other options are for the future.

TM: Were you able to settle in quickly, considering it’s your first time going to play in Europe?

AK: Yeah, I’d say it was pretty easy for me. The people are welcoming, the team was welcoming. I felt like I was not far from home. It’s a small town and I’ve played in a small town before – Richards Bay. I’m used to being indoors, being with family and stuff, so being here has not been anything different. The main thing I did was to tell myself that I am here for football, which is the main objective. I have to put my mind in the right place and physically put myself in the right shape. Football- wise, you know that when you play with guys who give you a helping hand and push you, you come to understand (what’s required). Like I said, it’s not about the level being crazy or being too intense compared to the level in South Africa, but it’s just that the hard work they put in decides that, you know. I’m also in the gym more and I am working on myself to try and reach their level and to become the best of both and become a better player.

TM: We’ve seen you play in central defence and central midfield. Which position are you being played in?

AK: I am playing as an eight, a 10 and sometimes I am on the left wing, but like a left wing that plays a free role as a number 10. I am wearing the jersey number 10, so my welcoming at the club has just been good. I am enjoying my time here and I am enjoying the position I am playing. I’m just at a good place, man.

TM: Are you comfortable in those attacking positions, as we’ve seen you play mostly in defensive roles before?

AK: Yeah, I’m enjoying myself. When I joined Ajax (Cape Town), I joined them as a 10-year-old and I was playing as a number eight or a number 10. It was until U15 when I started playing (as a) centre-back. That was just before I made it into the (U17) national team. Even before I left AmaZulu, I was playing as a midfielder. I joined Steenberg (United) and I was more of a lopsided, up-and-down midfielder. It’s something I am comfortable with and I enjoy it there. I am more part of the game, I am reading the game, I am understanding the game. It’s like when the boss gave me the jersey number 10, he said I am one of the best players he has in the team. He just wants me to always give a 100 (percent effort) for the team and that’s what I am doing every day. I am giving 110 percent for the team, working hard and I am doing what I can. It means a lot for a team to have so much belief in you like that, to give me the confidence that they give me. It means a lot. Even our coach, he is a young Spanish guy who makes me feel like I am at home. He tells me that I have the freedom and I should make the team play.

TM: What do you want to achieve in Europe?

AK: I want to make it to the biggest leagues and I want to play in the biggest cups and win the biggest cups. I have so many dreams, so much ambition. I am pushing myself and this is just the start and I can’t wait to be where it’s like the best times of my life, where I am enjoying my football at the biggest teams. I am trying to push myself to go as far as I can.

TM: How would you describe the time you spent playing in South Africa?

AK: I can say that I enjoyed my time playing in South Africa, playing for all the teams I played for. There’s Thanda (Royal Zulu), whom I won the NFD championship with and where I worked with one of the greatest coaches (the late Roger Sikhakhane). I’ve been with other teams, working with different people and, like with any other team that you join, it’s like you are part of a family and every time you leave, it’s like you are leaving your family. I enjoyed my time (back home), but I just don’t like speaking about teams in specific. Hopefully late in my career I can return to play in South Africa.

TM: Many had expected that you’d go on to play for one of the big clubs in SA. Why do you think your career did not quite get going in the Absa Premiership?

AK: For me, every team I played for is a big team. So ‘quite get going’… I wouldn’t say my career didn’t quite get going. I enjoyed my time and it really doesn’t matter which team I played for, as long as I was in the Absa Premiership, playing my football and enjoying my time. I wouldn’t say that there was necessarily a reason behind that, but yeah, all those teams were a stepping stone to where I am now and becoming the person that I am today.

TM: There’s often been talk, mostly from media and clubs you’ve played for, of you being a Bad Boy. What can you say about this?

AK: Personally, it was definitely not true. I am not a Bad Boy. My parents know that I am not a Bad Boy. Everyone that’s been with me in my life know that I am not a Bad Boy. What the media will always do is write something to get a story. The teams will act the way they act when they are opening space for someone else, but I never talk about specific teams or the media. I just keep my head down and I keep going on and playing my football. If I was such a Bad Boy,

how come every time I’d lose a team, I’d get signed by another team? How come I’d become the captain at some of these teams? Steenberg, I was captain. At my national team, I was captain. How come coach Shakes Mashaba did not see me as a Bad Boy? But, like I said, I don’t like talking about teams and all these clubs. They did what they did and I can’t blame them. I just have to focus on myself and play football.

TM: Do you have any regrets in your career so far?

AK: Honestly, I have no regrets in my career. I’ve been playing and I’ve enjoyed my career. I have no regrets in my football. I am becoming a better person. I feel like my career has helped me become a better person, a better father to my little one. So, I don’t have any regrets.

TM: You were linked with a move to Mamelodi Sundowns in the early stages of your career.

AK: Like I said, the media will always write something to get a story going. The truth in that… we’ll all never know. I’ll never know, because I don’t know if Sundowns made an approach or not. I was still with Ajax, so I don’t know.

TM: You trained with Kaizer Chiefs while Giovanni Solinas was there. What happened?

AK: No comment on that one.

TM: You got a senior national call-up during Shakes Mashaba’s tenure. Are you eager to get back into Bafana Bafana?

AK: I still have big ambitions to play for my country. I am still working hard to make my way back into the national team. Obviously, I want to part of the team, but it also takes a lot of hard work and that’s what I am putting in. I want to be a constant Bafana Bafana player and play for my team. Things like that take time, so we will just have to see how everything goes.

TM: What do you make of Molefi Ntseki’s appointment as Bafana coach, as he is someone who has come through coaching the different national age groups?

AK: I wouldn’t say I’ve worked with him, but I’ve been in a couple of camps and he was the assistant coach. I can say I know him a bit. He is a good coach who loves youngsters and he is always there to build confidence and push youngsters. So, I think that’s a great step for our national team, to have someone who can also combine the young and old. That’s what our national team has been missing, young players breaking through into Bafana Bafana. That’s what coach Shakes was trying to put into our national team, but unfortunately, he did not have enough time to make it an ongoing process. But coach Molefi can still make that possible.

TM: Who would you say has been the most influential coach in your career?

AK: Honestly, I’ve worked with a lot of good coaches. Coach Roger got the best out of me in working hard. Coach Shakes got the best out of me in believing in me and pushing me. Coach Mike Lukhubeni has also been a part of changing my life and pushing and trying to get the best out of me and being there. So, it would be a difficult one to choose, but I can give you that top three. Those are the top three coaches I have worked with, that I have learnt from the most.

TM: Thanks for your time, Aya. Good luck and stay safe.

AK: Thanks. ❐