I’m one of the best in Mzansi
There’s a lot to look forward to for the 35-yearold when local football returns in February, as he looks to make that number one jersey his own on a long-term basis. In this interview with Tshepang Mailwane, the man who has been keeping goal for the Buccaneers this season opens up about playing regularly, his dream of winning a trophy with the club as a number one keeper and the impact of Olisa Ndah since his arrival.
It may not have been the smoothest of seasons for Siyabonga Mpontshane at Orlando Pirates, but there are a few positives for him to take out. In all competitions, the former Platinum Stars shot-stopper has featured 20 times, the most he has achieved in a single campaign since joining the club in 2015. Furthermore, he’s yet to concede in the CAF Confederation Cup, adding to his six clean sheets in the DStv Premiership.
Tshepang Mailwane: Siya, hope you’re well. How has it been getting a chance to play regularly this season for Orlando Pirates?
Siyabonga Mpontshane: What I can say is that my season is going well. When I look at my stats, they have improved a lot. I have six clean sheets in the league and I have three in the CAF (Confederation Cup). I have not conceded in CAF, so things have been going well this season. Our goalkeeper coach (Sjoerd Woudenberg) has had a huge influence on me. He is someone who is able to motivate me. He tells me how good I am and that I should not doubt my ability as a goalkeeper. So, that has influenced my game a lot. He lifted my confidence.
TM: Are you someone who is consistent at looking at your own statistics?
SM: Yes, I do look at them.
TM: So, you’d probably be aware that you have played 20 games in all competitions, and this is the most you’ve achieved in one season since you joined the Buccaneers in 2015…
SM: Yes, I am aware of that.
TM: Let’s talk about that a bit. How does it make you feel that it’s taken you so long to finally be able to play these many matches in one campaign?
SM:
I stayed a few seasons without playing much, but when I got my chance to play… there are people who can criticise you. When you play for a big team like Pirates, everybody wants you to win, so it can be difficult. If you are not mentally strong when you play for Pirates, then it can ruin your football. But I think I am very strong. I don’t think I’m a person who drops his head when I’m criticized by people. My teammates have also boosted me a lot. They helped me a lot because they kept on reminding me that I’m a good goalkeeper. It also reminded me that I was not sitting outside because I’m a bad goalkeeper. It made me believe that I’m one of the best and I knew that I had to keep on working hard.
TM: When you were not playing, what kept you going?
SM:
I know myself. I believe I am a goalkeeper who has everything. That’s what kept me going. I told myself that no matter who came to the club, I am there and I know what I can do when I get onto the field.
TM: Statistics reveal that you did not play a single game in 2019/20. Can you describe the feeling of going an entire campaign without tasting any action?
SM:
That’s something that hurts if something like that happens. If you are not strong, it can kill your motivation because you might feel like you are useless, but if you are strong mentally and if you know what you can do when you get an opportunity, I don’t think it will affect you too much as a player. For me, it did not affect me too much because I know that I’m one of the best in Mzansi.
TM: But did you not have days where you would wake up and not feel like going to training that season because you were not playing at all?
SM: No, not at all. I’m too strong. When we go to the gym, even when I’m not playing, I’m the first to get to the gym. So, I’m strong mentally when it comes to things like that. It’s needed.
TM: During your time at the club, the Soweto giants have brought in the likes of Jackson Mabokgwane, Richard Ofori, Wayne Sandilands and Joris Delle. Did it not make you feel like they did not believe in your ability?
SM: Yeah, there were quite a few of them who joined the club. Yes, you can sometimes get those thoughts, but if you believe in yourself and know that when you get your chance you will show them what you are capable of, that’s what can keep you going.
TM: At any point, did you ever think of leaving the club to try and get game-time elsewhere?
SM:
There were times when I thought of that, but then I saw that being at Pirates is a big thing. I kept telling myself that my chance will come one day and that I should keep on working, no matter how hard it is. I just kept on telling myself that I should keep on going.
TM: Had you ever been close to joining another side? SM:
No, it has never come to that. There have been some teams which phoned me to play for them, but it was not close in that way. They only called me. They never went to Pirates to sign me, so I never left. That’s how it was.
TM: Having played 20 games this season, do you feel you are doing enough to make yourself a longterm number one goalkeeper for Pirates? SM:
That’s a difficult question. I don’t know how to put it, but you know when a team is not winning and is maybe playing a lot of draws, it ends up looking like there is something wrong that the goalkeeper is doing. If most of the draws were wins, I think many out there would be saying Mpontshane is a top goalkeeper. When you don’t win games, at times it looks like it’s the goalkeeper’s fault. But I feel like I have done well and my season has gone well. It’s just that we have played a lot of draws. If those draws were turned into wins, then it would be a different story.
TM: Would you like to see yourself being the number one goalkeeper for the coming seasons? SM:
Yes, that would make me happy. I would like to win a cup with Pirates, knowing that I played a key role, like I did when I was with Platinum Stars. It will always be there that I played a part in the team’s success in the MTN8 and Telkom Knockout when we won those trophies while I was at Platinum Stars. So, if something like that can happen here at Pirates, that would make me happy.
TM: You’ve conceded 16 goals in 17 appearances in the league…
SM:
I’m not okay with that. That’s a lot of goals to concede and I feel the game which killed me the most was the one against (Mamelodi) Sundowns, where we lost 4-1. That’s the game. When supporters speak about Mpontshane, that’s the game they remember, but sometimes the supporters look at the wrong thing. But it’s not always possible to be at the top throughout the whole season. Even overseas, it happens to the top goalkeepers, but supporters don’t always see it that way.
TM: How do you handle it when supporters give you a tough time?
SM: I know that they want us to win every game, so it becomes difficult to argue with them because all they want is to see the team winning. So, I usually just accept what they say and say it’s fine because they are saying it with a broken heart when the team has not won.
TM: There have been injuries to the likes of Happy Jele and Innocent Maela, which means the back four has changed quite a few times this season. As a goalkeeper, and the team as a whole, how has that affected you?
SM:
I don’t think it has been too difficult. I feel that we’ve done well with whoever has come in to play. It’s just that if you play with someone you may not always play with, it’s not always easy because we as players don’t do things the same.
TM: But a player like Olisa Ndah has come in and seems to have settled in well at the back. What have you made of his performances?
SM:
Ndah is a top defender… I don’t even know how to explain it. As a defender, I feel he has everything. When it comes to the aerial balls, he wins them. When it comes to playing, he does that because he can play from the back. So, he has everything.
TM: How much confidence does it give you to have someone like that in front of you?
SM:
It boosts me a lot because I’m a goalkeeper who can play, so when there’s someone like Ndah in front of me, I know that if I pass him the ball, he will be comfortable on the ball. So, it makes the job easier.
TM: Moving on… What do you make of the season Bucs have had up to now?
SM:
We are doing okay. But we’ve played many draws. If you take those draws and turn them into wins, then we would be up there (on points) with Sundowns.
TM: But what is causing the draws or why can’t you guys kill off a game when you’ve taken the lead?
SM:
There have been times when we were unable to convert our chances. And if you play a game without scoring, obviously it will be difficult to win. So, there have been times where we’ve struggled to score and that has hurt us a lot.
TM: With 11 games left and being 14 points behind Downs, do you feel that there is a realistic chance of catching the leaders and winning the title?
SM:
There is something that once happened in the past when Sundowns won the league when (Kaizer) Chiefs had a lead of about 10 points or more. In football, anything can happen, so we won’t give up on trying. We need to keep working hard as a team. We’ve got a good squad and I believe we can win any game. We’ve got the quality to win any game, so we can definitely do that. We will see how it goes. We need to try to do something with the cups that are left. There’s the Nedbank Cup and the league, where anything can still happen. If we can win one of them, or two, that would really make me happy.
TM: It must have been disappointing not to defend your MTN8 title this season.
SM: It was not a nice feeling because, as champions, you need to defend your trophy, but that did not happen. Well, those things happen in football. We need to push harder going forward.
“When supporters speak about Mpontshane, that’s the game they remember.”
TM: There’s also the small matter of the Confederation Cup group stages, which began next month. What do you make of the opponents you’ve been drawn against in Al Ittihad (Libya), JS Saoura (Algeria) and the winner between Royal Leopards (Swaziland) and JS Kabylie (Algeria)? SM: We’ve played three games in the Confederation Cup and we have not conceded, so everything is going well so far. When it comes to football, you can never predict or say that coming up against a certain type of opposition will be easy. We know that it won’t be easy, but we will do our best to win all the games that we play in the group stages.
TM: Thank you so much for your time, Mpontshi. Good luck as you compete in different competition after the Afcon.
SM: Thank you.