South Africa has surprised m e

Masebe Qina: Peter, three years have come and gone since you first arrived in South Africa in 2018 to join Cape Town City and, as confirmed by the club, you will be leaving at the end of the season to return to the Netherlands. How do you feel about the latest developments in your career?

Peter Leeuwenburgh: Ye ah, inde e d I’m le aving. I’m ve ry happy and I think it’s the right time for me to make a ste p back to the Ne the rlands. Whe n the club showe d inte re st in me , I was happy. The y came to Cape Town to watch me play and to watch me train and to talk to Cape Town City about the transfe r fe e . Whe n that happe ne d, I was ve ry happy be cause that’s a big club in the Ne the rlands and it’s a ste p forward for me . At this point in my care e r, I think it’s the right ste p. Hope fully I still have a lot of ye ars ahe ad of me to make a ste p forward. It’s the pe rfe ct time .

MQ: We agree, it doesn’t get bigger and better than joining FC Groningen in the Eredivisie. Did you expect the move when it happened?

PL:

Hmmm… the re ’s be e n contact with the othe r Ere divisie clubs, so it wasn’t that big of a surprise . The club (City) kne w as we ll that maybe afte r this se ason, it would be a good time to se ll me . So, the re ’s be e n contact with the club (FC Groninge n) ove r the past ye ar, and like I say, it wasn’t that big of a surprise . I also kne w that I have be e n playing we ll and I kne w that there would be more inte re st from clubs, and I hope d that some thing might happe n and fortunate ly it happe ne d.

MQ: Before coming to South Africa, how much did you know about this country and the PSL?

PL:

I kne w quite a lot about Cape Town be cause I was he re on a vacation be fore once . I was ve ry impre sse d with the city and the pe ople . It fe lt ve ry good for me to come he re and to play he re . I didn’t know much about South African football, to be hone st. I kne w the big clubs by name of course – that is (Orlando) Pirate s, (Kaize r) Chie fs and (Mame lodi) Sundowns, but not many othe r name s. It was all ne w for me , but I think I adapte d quickly to the country and the way of play and to the culture as we ll. I was ve ry ope n-minde d, with not too many e xpe ctations. I just came and said le t’s se e what happe ns. I told myse lf, ‘Le t’s se e how I have to adjust to the country and to the pe ople and the way of playing.’ I think if you go to a diffe re nt culture on the othe r side of the world, that’s the only thing that you have to do – re spe ct the culture and to re spe ct the country and try to adapt. South Africa has surprise d me in the be st possible way.

MQ: Did everything you expected when you came here happen the way you expected it?

PL:

I didn’t know what to e xpe ct as I didn’t know much about South African football, but from what I saw from day one , it’s ve ry profe ssional. Most stadiums have nice pitche s as e xpe cte d, although some time s in some it can be a bit be tte r. (Giggling) You guys in South Africa also know this. Ye ah, e ve rything I saw is ve ry profe ssional and we ll-organise d and I have no complaints about that.

MQ: What will you remember the most about Mzansi and what will you be telling people in the Netherlands about the country?

PL:

We ll, I’ve got to admit that pe ople he re are ve ry, ve ry kind and ve ry re spe ctful. The re are a lot of diffe re nt culture s, but e ve rybody ge ts along ve ry nice ly with e ach othe r. Eve rybody re - spe cte d me whe n I came as a fore igne r from the othe r side of the world. Theytriedtohelpmewhen I arrive d, so that’s de finite ly some thing that I will ne ve r forge t.

MQ: Cape Town City hasn’t had the best of seasons, what with the inconsistent results. What do you think has been

After three years of enjoying regular game-time as Cape Town City’s first-choice goalkeeper, Peter Leeuwenburgh will be leaving the Mother City club at the end of the season to join FC Groningen in the Eredivisie in the Netherlands. The understandably excited 27-year-old shot-stopper says he saw the move coming as the Dutch club has been closely monitoring him and had, at one stage, come to Cape Town to watch him in training and official matches. How does the towering keeper feel about the DStv Premiership and Mz ansi as a country since arriving in 2018? W hat will he be telling people back home about South Africa? Leeuwenburgh answers these and other questions to Soccer Laduma’s Masebe Qina, while he also reveals that he doesn’t take people who judge goalkeepers based on number of goals conceded seriously.

the problem? PL:

We starte d fairly we ll, and we we re in the top thre e for a mome nt. Whe n we came back from the Christmas bre ak, we had a fe w Coronavirus case s within the te am and I think in January we playe d se ve n game s (City playe d six game s in January), and mostly away, like (to) TTM, who we re still playing in Thohoyandou at the time , and we trave lle d to (Black) Le opards and Baroka FC. All those away game s and the Corona case s contribute d to that. Those away matche s we re ve ry tough, and the circumstance s we re not to our favour as we had re ste d a fe w playe rs. Also, we we re not at our be st and that is normal as e ve ry te am has such a pe riod in e ve ry se ason, so I wouldn’t say we had such a big proble m. I think it was a mix of unlucky circumstance s and not be ing at our be st. But the last couple of game s have be e n a bit positive . A win ove r Chie fs, a win ove r Supe rSport (Unite d), a draw away to (Golde n) Arrows… those we re not bad re sults. It’s be e n be tte r now, and I think if we can build on this mome ntum, we can still finish in a highe r position on the log and maybe in a good position for the last quarte r as we ll.

MQ: By your standards, critics might say that this hasn’t been the best season for you individually after conceding more than 30 goals already in this campaign. How would you summarise your season? PL: Ja, pe ople who analyse goalke e pe rs base d on goals conce de d I can’t take the m se riously, to be hone st. A goalke e pe r is part of the te am and you have to look at the bigge r picture , the way you play and all those things. Of course , the numbe r of goals conce de d is for me , but you should look at the numbe r of goals that we re own goals, the numbe r of save s made and look at the numbe r of supe r save s and so on. The numbe r of goals conce de d is more to do with the way you play (as a te am). We don’t play the kind of football that some othe r te ams might be playing. We ’re always ope n and we try to attack home and away and some time s with more of a risk as that can le ad to more e xposure at the back. That’s how we play, and we have be e n succe ssful with that. For me , that has be e n fine , and I don’t think the te am in the Ne the rlands would have be e n inte re ste d in me if I didn’t play we ll. In a numbe r of game s, I have made some crucial save s at crucial time s. In one -v-one s, I have made some crucial save s and some time s we we nt on to score afte r that, for e xample , and win 2-1 and stuff like that. Ove rall, it’s be e n fine , and I’ve beenokay.

MQ: And ever since arriving at the Citizens, you’ve made the number one jersey your own. How do you feel about that?

PL:

Of course , and that was one of the re asons I came he re . The re we re no promise s whe n I arrive d that I would be the first choice . I had to prove myse lf and that we nt we ll. I did good e nough to ke e p the je rse y. I also, like e ve ry othe r playe r or like e ve ry othe r goalke e pe r… the re are always game s that you are not as good as you can be , and the othe r game s whe re you are e xce lle nt. Ove rall, the ave rage has be e n ve ry good, consiste nt and I’m ve ry happy now to have playe d almost 100 game s. I think as a goalke e pe r, you have to be ve ry consiste nt, and I think consiste ncy is what I have showe d ove r the ye ars.

MQ: You left the country to have your medicals with your new club and came back to play against Chiefs in a game you won. How did you do all of that in the short space of time?

PL: As a profe ssional playe r, some time s you have to ge t use d to the circumstance s. I le ft straight afte r the game against Supe rSport and the de al was alre ady done at that time . So, I kne w that I was going to le ave , and I we nt to the Ne the rlands to do the me dicals and to do the signing and I arrive d back in South Africa on the we e ke nd be fore the Chie fs game . I re -joine d the te am to pre pare for Chie fs. I have be e n fit the whole ye ar, so it wasn’t too bad for me to miss a couple of training se ssions he re in Cape Town to do my me dicals in the Ne the rlands – that was not a proble m. I traine d with the te am for two days and it was e asy to play and physically it was not a proble m at all. Me ntally, I just had to switch the button (on) again from the Ne the rlands to South Africa be cause I think the only right thing to do for now is to make sure that toge the r with the club, we finish our time on a high note .

MQ: We congratulate you on your big move and wish you everything of the best. But weren’t there any COVID-19 fears when you travelled to your home country and came back?

PL: I did the te sts be fore the y allowe d me on the plane to the Ne the rlands. I had also done the te sts two days prior to the flight and on the day of the flight as we ll. During my me dicals in the Ne the rlands, I also te ste d ne gative and whe n I got on the plane back to Cape Town, I also had to te st twice . I te ste d six time s and the re we re no fe ars of COVID.

MQ: You are known for your respect for Amakhosi and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng K hune, who also respects you. He has been through a lot lately, with some critics on his case about his performances. What is your message to him?

PL:

Ye ah, I re spe ct him, and I re - spe ct e ve ry othe r goalke e pe r in the le ague . With all the goalke e pe rs, we don’t spe ak a lot, but whe n I spe ak to the m and e ve n some time s on social me dia, we talk a bit, but I have re spe ct for all of the m and we have a good conne ction. Itu is no diffe rent–whenwe see eachother,we get to have a good chat. We talk about football and we talk about life . Ye ah, it’s not be e n e asy for him and he had to de al with a couple of injurie s as we ll. We spoke afte r our game and he is fit now. I wish he could ge t a couple of more ye ars to play. The re ’s nothing spe cial, he knows what to do and he ’s ve ry e xpe rie nce d. He ’s been at the highe st le ve l in South Africa, and he playe d at the World Cup. I don’t think the re ’s much that I have to te ll him, he knows what to do and I re spe ct him in a ve ry big way, and I also know that he re spe cts me and that’s the nice part about having goalke e pe r colle ague s. Itu did we ll in the game against us, I’m sure he will ke e p on doing we ll and give us a fe w more ye ars. I told him that I wish he could play a fe w more ye ars, and for the fans as we ll.

“People here are very, very kind and very respectful.”

MQ: Lasty, who’s been your toughest opponent in the DStv Premiership?

PL:

Eve ry time Hlompho Ke kana ge ts the ball, and he is fre e , I’m always aware that he can shoot. I’ll always be … I wouldn’t say I’d be scare d, but I’m always on my toe s whe n he ge ts the ball. He can strike from e ve rywhe re and he is a midfie lde r who is ve ry good with the ball. He is a ve ry good ball playe r and his shot from distance is unbe lie vable . I’m always a bit e xtra ale rt whe n he ge ts the ball. Lastly, to all the South African pe ople and to all the football fans, thank you for re spe cting me and thank you for showing support. I will always ke e p on following South African football and, who knows, we might se e e ach othe r again in the future .