That’s up to my boss

Delmain Faver: Last season, you did really well, scoring nine goals and assisting five times…

Fagrie Lakay:

For me as a player, it was a good feeling joining Cape Town City. I don’t have to go into my past, but I haven’t been playing much at the clubs that I’ve been at before for various reasons – injuries and all of that. But since I came to Cape Town City, a Cape Town-based team, and since they started the club, everyone has admired the way they played and it was always a dream for me to go to Cape Town City. So, yeah, since I came here, it felt like home. The guys welcomed me. And it didn’t just happen overnight. They motivated me to continue to work hard and keep on doing well in training. I think as a player, once you start to work hard and you see a bit of results, it motivates you more to continue working and I think that was one of the main reasons (for doing well), coupled with having my family around me. But I think once I just started playing and scoring the goals, scoring like one goal, two goals… I always believed that I could, but sometimes the confidence is down and I think in this past year-and-a-half, I’ve grown in confidence and I have to believe more that I can do it, I’m capable of doing it.

DF: Statistically, it’s been the best season of your career. Do you feel the same way with regards to how things went on the field for you?

FL:

Ja, 100% from my side also. That’s been my best season. Like I said, because I achieved this little bit last season, it motivates me to do more and it gives me that belief that I’m capable of scoring goals and helping the team score goals and being a team player and putting (in) the hard work. So, there’s no doubt about it. Like you said, the numbers say it all… like, it has been my best season overall and I feel, as a player, it’s been a good one.

DF: A big problem for you has been consistency, but this season, you continued where you left off and have netted five goals so far.

FL: Yeah. It’s the confidence and, obviously, you can’t forget the game-time. Like, before I scored all these goals, I played and I got the minutes to play and build this confidence. That’s why I say I’m grateful to Cape Town City for allowing me and giving me the opportunity to play. Also, because my teammates saw what I could do last season, I can’t go and not work anymore. So, I kinda put that responsibility on myself to say look, guys, when it comes to scoring goals, I have to put my hand up because it’s not like I’ve never done this. They’ve seen what I’m capable of and what I can do, so now, I always want to improve, I always want to get better and I think this season that is the main focus. I want to do more and achieve more as a team and also for me as a player and a human being. I want to challenge myself to get better and do better than the season before.

DF: At 24, you’ve now played for Wits, SuperSport United and Ajax Cape Town, but you say City has “felt like home”.

FL: Yeah, but if it wasn’t for those teams, I wouldn’t be the player that I am today. Besides the ability, the talent and all of that, there’s a lot of things at those clubs that contributed to the player that I am today. Sometimes certain things happen, like thinking that maybe that loan at that point was good for me, maybe this thing happened

in my career that

Though he made history when he became the youngest Bafana Bafana player when he featured in a Mandela Challenge encounter against Ivory Coast back in 2014, Fagrie Lakay’s career has had a stop-start feel about it for the most part. Injuries have not been kind, and his club and international career has suffered as a result, and it was only over the last two seasons that the hard-running attacker managed to shake off his woes, and all of a sudden there are suggestions he’ll live up to that early career hype. In this interview with Soccer Laduma’s Delmain Faver, Lakay talks about his impressive numbers of was good for me but at that moment in time, I didn’t think that it was good for me. Maybe I felt like no, I’m being left out and all of it. So, I think yes, I can confidently say that I found a home and this is my family. But also, I have to give credit to all the other teams that contributed to my career at some point. So, I think everything that I’ve learned up until now, I just try and implement all of that, and fortunately, it’s happening for me and it’s showing.

DF: How’s life been under coach Eric Tinkler, whom you also worked with at SuperSport?

FL: (Laughs) Sometimes people think it’s easy when you know the coach. If you worked with the coach before, in most cases, because he knows you, he expects a bit more from you. Like, if things don’t go well, you’re the first person that he would shout at. That’s because you’ve worked with him before and you guys have a relationship. I think it’s something good, but also, at the back of my mind, I have that thing that I need to lead by example because the coach is gonna come to me first and say, “But why are you not doing this and why are you not doing that?” So, I think it’s a good motivation for me and I want to show him that I want to be a better player and that I’m willing to improve. I think we have a good relationship. He is always pushing me to become better and wants me to be a better player and that’s something I’m grateful for.

DF: You had yet another injury setback that derailed your progress. How much of a hindrance did it provetobe? FL: Every injury is different and I’ve been through many different ones, so as much as I’d have loved to play and for things to happen for me, I can’t change whatever is happening. The way I looked at it at that point in time, it seems like ‘how do I go about fixing this and how do I go about getting back on the field?’, and I think I have to give credit to the medical team at Cape Town City and the club and my teammates. All of them supported me and they knew that it wasn’t an easy time because, as a player, you want to be on the field. I also think because it was not my first injury, I kinda learnt to accept (it) and just focus on getting better.

DF: The Citizens are sat just outside the Top Eight. What do you think is needed to finish the season strong? FL:

I’d say a lot of people admire the way we play and the way we do things as a club, but that doesn’t bring the results, so I think as a team, we just need to be more consistent. We need to continue doing the work that we’re doing. I think if we’re consistent and we get the results more often and continue to work hard, it will be easier for us to climb the log.

DF: Moving on. You were one of the players touted to lift the flag for South Africa at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but you missed out… FL: I’ve never played a big tournament for South Africa. I’ve played for the national team before and whenever it was time to play World Cup or Olympics, the big tournaments, I always missed. I was hoping that would be the big tournament I’d play for my country, but unfortunately, that’s when the whole groin thing started and I couldn’t make it. I was very disappointed, but like I said, I’ve been through a lot of injuries and a lot of experiences, and so the way I look at things now, (I believe) there’s someone greater than us and that is the Almighty. Whatever He has planned for us, we can’t change that. We just need to accept and keep on believing in Him, putting our heads down and working hard.

DF: You managed to bounce back when you were included in the Bafana Bafana squad for the last two World Cup qualifiers against Ghana and Zimbabwe.

FL:

Like I say, as a player, it’s always good. It’s a great feeling to represent your country. I’ve been there before and I was a bit younger then, so it was like a learning experience. So, when it came this time, I knew what to expect and that was one of the things that motivated me because I’m sure if you ask everyone in the country if they’d like to represent the country, no one would say no. For me, it’s no different. When coach Eric came in, he said, “That’s one of the things you need to work towards, getting yourself back into the Bafana team.” I think there’s always room for improvement, but I put in the work and I’m continuing to put in the work and for me to be called up again, under coach Hugo Broos, was a great feeling and it just showed me that if you work hard, it will pay off.

2020/21, his biggest regret so far, the challenges of working under a coach with whom he has worked before, the European dream … and much more.

“Because he knows you, he expects a bit more from you.”

DF: At 17, you became the youngest Bafana player coming on as a substitute, in a 2-0 Mandela Challenge win against Ivory Coast in 2014. Looking back, are you pleased with how your international career has gone?

FL:

To be honest, I’d have loved to play a Youth World Cup or something for the national team, but overall, at this point in my life, in my career, I’m happy with the way it’s played out. Other than that, I’d have loved to play maybe a World Cup or a big tournament for my country, but who knows, maybe in future…

DF: There were talks that Partizan Belgrade from Serbia were looking at you through their partnership with the club when they visited South Africa last year, which could turn into a possible move to Europe for you.

FL:

As a young boy growing up, it was always my dream to go and play in Europe at some point in my career. I’m 24 now and I don’t think that has changed. I’m very happy with where I’m at and I think the only thing I can focus on is just (to) continue working and to score as many goals as possible. (Laughs) That’s up to my boss. Maybe one day he’ll call me into the office and say, “Fagrie, there’s something overseas.” I can only control what I can control and that is putting in the work on the field.