If I don’t perform…
By his own admission, Mogamat May thought his time in football was over just when it had started. After all, he was only 16 years old when he was selected amongst a group of youngsters who would be promoted to Ajax Cape Town’s first team some six years ago. However, his dream soon developed a sour taste to it as he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament damage, which left him the worst for wear, physically and emotionally. A five-year period in the football wilderness was enough to drive him over the edge, ready to turn his back on the game that once promised him so much. Alas, fate would have none of that, as his 13 goals and seven assists in nine SAB League games for Hanover Park were enough to catch the ever-alert eye of the Cape Town City scouts, who were fretting over a replacement for their best striker, Fagrie Lakay, who had just caught a flight to Egypt to begin a new chapter of his career. Now back in the big time, May reveals his nightmare on the sidelines, making his Citizens debut against his idol and why he is not impatient with himself, all in this candid conversation with Soccer Laduma’s Delmain Faver.
Delmain Faver: Mo, you broke into the Ajax Cape Town first team set-up at the tender age of 16 back in 2016, but things didn’t really pan out the way you had hoped. It must be a really great feeling then to be back in the big league!
Mogamat May:
Yeah, I am very happy and very grateful because, like you know, I was up there, but I hit a wrong turn and I tore my ACL and I had a lot of problems after that. I went on trial to (Bidvest) Wits when I was about 16 years old, with the first team – didn’t make it. I came back and played Bayhill (Premier Cup) with Old Mutual and then a couple of months after that joined Ajax, where I spent, like, six months playing a couple of junior tournaments and then I got promoted.
DF: Talk us through what it felt like seeing the guys you were promoted with go on to forge impressive careers for themselves and there you were, nursing a possibly career-threatening injury.
MM:
I thought my time was up in this game! But before my operation, I did rehab. Like, before the operation, I did it for four months. Thank you, Renner Michelle, who kept me there, and they managed to keep my mind there. When I went for the operation, they told me I would probably take a year to get back, but I was back after six months.
DF: What happened when you returned after six months, as you also didn’t really make an impact at Ajax after the operation?
MM:
I think it was because of the departure of Roger de Sa and then came Stanley Menzo, who didn’t know me. He didn’t know anyone in the team, so he was looking to bring in big names that he knew. Then, after him, Muhsin (Ertugral) came and I was part of his set-up, but it was difficult for me because I’m a striker and Muhsin wanted me to play as a right wingback or left wingback.
DF: How much mental strength is required when you go through such a traumatic injury at such a young age?
MM:
I spoke to a lot of people in hospital as I was next to guys who were roundabout 35 and 40. They were also former soccer players, but like back then when, I think, it was the Rothmans Cup. They were also struggling with knees. They had the same injuries as me… like, the one got a whole knee replacement. I spoke to a lot of people and most people told me that I wouldn’t come back from that and it was going to be tough. I just prayed, kept my head down and tried my best and, after the operation, going into challenges, like directional changes and all of that, there was like a thing playing in my mind saying I might get hurt (again). After a year-anda-half, that thought went away and it was just normal.
DF: After the Urban Warriors, you spent quite some time roaming around the lower leagues in Cape Town, where you eventually ended up at Hanover Park in the SAB League...
MM:
I left Ajax and I went on trial to (Golden) Arrows. Arrows thought that I was a free transfer, but Ajax actually wanted money, but then the lady at Arrows (Mato Madlala) didn’t want to pay the money. So, I ended up going to Magic FC. Ajax told me I could only join a Third or Fourth Division team to play and they didn’t have to pay for me. I played at Magic for about six months. After that, I played for Glendene (United) for about six months and that was a complete season. Then I joined Steenberg (United) for a seasonand-a-half. I got released and I joined Hanover Park, where I played the last four games of the previous season and the first eight games of the current season.
DF: You went from the PSL to being in the fourth tier of South African football. Did you ever imagine that you would be back in the topflight?
MM:
Not really. Like, the challenges I faced, being jobless, man, playing for basically nothing... I don’t even know. But I’m so grateful for this opportunity that came. When I was playing at Hanover Park, I was telling Tariq Dean, who played in midfield at Stellenbosch FC, that I’ll just finish the season and then I’ll probably go study or do something else. It was probably five games into the season, and I told him I would probably just finish the season and I was done with this game because it had been about four or five years being jobless and playing for no money.
DF: Wow. So, how did the Cape Town City interest come about?
MM:
I got a message from the head scout, Grant Fitch. We played on the Friday… I can’t remember where. I think we won 4-2. He was watching the game and I scored and I assisted twice and, on my way home, he messaged me. He said that the coach wanted to have a look at me and he told me on the Monday I had to be at training. The Saturday evening, he told me I would have to report for training at 08h00 on Sunday. I reported and that was, like, probably the toughest session for me because we were training twice in the SAB League and we played twice a week, and the training we did was nothing close to the PSL training that I’m getting now. So, I was tired the Sunday when I came home. The Monday, we played a friendly against (Cape Town) All Stars. I got, like, probably 20 minutes and I scored. Two days later, we played Cape Town Spurs and I scored, where I also got about 20 minutes, and then we played against Al-Hilal and I played about 60 minutes and I scored in that game as well. We played again and then I hit the crossbar twice when we played the first XI of Al-Hilal that played against Mamelodi Sundowns a few weeks ago.
DF: Impressive. MM:
Then, after that friendly, the boss (John Comitis) called me into the office and then he said that he’d like to give me a chance, and that’s how it came about
DF: Coach Eric Tinkler spoke quite glowingly about your ability, particularly your strength when it comes to holding up the ball and making intelligent runs in behind the defence. What has he said to you about his requirements of you?
MM: He told me that I just have to stay focused, man, and that my level of fitness is nothing close to the other players but it’s getting there. He also said that if I just keep my head down, the goals will come because I started in two games and I came on as a sub in two games. My first game was against (Kaizer) Chiefs, and I had half chances. The level I was playing at, I could keep the ball a bit longer, but now when you get, like, a slight chance, you have to hit. That’s something I have to work on.
DF: It must have been a huge confidence booster for you when your first game back in the topflight came against the mighty Amakhosi, with the coach showing you that he’s not afraid to throw you in the deep end...
MM:
Yeah, that was a big confidence booster for me. One of the players I look up to in the PSL, Khama Billiat, I played against that night, so it was a big confidence booster to be on the same pitch as him.
DF: Were you starstruck at all?
MM: A small bit, ha, ha.
DF: You came in at a time where the club had just lost the services of Fagrie Lakay and Surprise Ralani, who were pivotal figures at the Citizens. What has the reception been like from your teammates?
MM: It was good. I know most of the guys in the team, I played with most of them at Ajax, so they gave me a very warm welcome, especially Craig Martin, who was in the same boat as me coming from the fourth tier straight into the PSL. It gave me a lot of confidence before and after training, where some players spoke to me. They are a bunch of great guys.
DF: Mo, you were signed on a short-term contract until the end of the season, with an option to renew depending on how you perform. Does this place you under a bit more pressure or does it make you more determined to succeed?
MM: A bit of both, because basically if I don’t perform, then I am back where I started. So, it’s motivation as well to perform whenever I get a chance. ❐