That’s what happened to me

There’s a bit of an untold story when it comes to Keagan Dolly’s time abroad with French Ligue 1 side Montpellier. With Soccer

Laduma making the trip to witness Bafana Bafana’s first two matches in Europe in nearly a decade, it seemed there was no better time than that to catch up with the pintsized attacker, now at Kaizer Chiefs as the club’s marquee signing this season, to relive the moments of playing at the highest level – and the lows of injuries that, at times, left him frustrated. In this interview, he also opens up about why he made the decision to return to the Premier Soccer League when he could have gone to North Africa, Saudi Arabia or even Turkey. Bafana did suffer a 5-0 hammering against FIFA World Cup champions France at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, so our disclaimer is that Dolly sat with Soccer Laduma’s Mazola Molefe at the team hotel prior to that mauling by Didier Des

champs’ men. The other game was a goalless draw against Guinea in Kortrijk, Belgium.

Mazola Molefe: Keagz, thank you for chatting to us. You must have been having nostalgic moments returning to France with Bafana Bafana after spending five years here.

Keagan Dolly: Yeah, it brought back good memories of being in this country. I mean, I played a few times here in Lille. Just seeing the people and hearing the language again every two minutes took me back to my daily routine here. It’s a bit weird coming back as a visitor and not staying behind, but it is also good to share and talk about my experiences in France with the rest of the guys about how it was for me.

MM: Are you tempted to compare the standard of the French Ligue 1 to the Premier Soccer League now that you’ve gone back home? KD: It’s hard not to. It will always be there in the back of my mind, but I know where I am at the moment and you have to adapt to every situation. Obviously France and South Africa will never be the same because it is totally different to one another. But it would be unfair of me to always compare the two. I made good memories here in France, but my focus is now totally back home.

MM: Fair enough. How difficult was the decision to return to SA? You’ve also spoken about being a father, so the assumption is that your choice had a lot to do with that as well. According to your agent (Paul Mitchell), there were also offers abroad and not just from Kaizer Chiefs. What did it boil down to?

KD: I think it was about me playing again and wanting to be happy while being on the field. I mean, it’s not a secret that I struggled a bit in France in terms of match fitness and game-time. But other than that, I enjoyed staying here – it’s a beautiful city, has a great culture and I made a lot of friends in Montpellier. I really just wanted to play. I wanted a new environment to be happy again. The main reason why I had come to France in the first place was to play football regularly, and that wasn’t going according to plan, so I didn’t see any other reason to stay behind. Like you said, there were a few offers that came from different teams in Europe, but there wasn’t something that caught my attention. The main factor for going back home was that my daughter was born and that was a turning point. I grew up not being around my family. I went to boarding school at the age of 12, the School of Excellence, and then even moved further away when I went to Mamelodi Sundowns (youth), then going to Cape Town (to join Ajax Cape Town). I didn’t want my daughter growing up in an environment where she doesn’t have stability, a home to grow up in and that’s

what I wanted for her.

MM: It’s almost strange to hear you say that because that is what kept you going in Europe for nearly five years – the fact that you were away from home from an early age. But now, here you are with a completely different mindset when it is again time to make a decision about your future. KD: Agreed, it’s weird how one’s mind works. For me, that was my driving force, knowing that I had already made so many sacrifices in my life. I left my parents’ house at such a young age, so for me to just give up and go back was not an option because I had already gone through so much. But then you become a father, have a daughter and all you want is the best for her and you want stability. (Laughs) It’s just weird that a little person like that can change your entire outlook on life. That’s what happened to me. I felt like at that moment, I reached a point where I have tried my best in Europe and, sometimes, if it’s not meant to be, then it’s not meant to be. The way I look at it is that all our pasts aren’t the same, especially as football players. Some might come to Europe and do well… Percy (Tau) was doing very well in Belgium, then went to England but didn’t get the opportunity really. But he made a name for himself. You also look at the likes of Lebo Mothiba, that guy has been here in Europe for so long (since 2014) and is still here. At times, I was a bit selfish trying to compare myself with him and fighting to make a name for myself, but if it doesn’t go your way, you have to accept it and move on – not everything will go the way you want it to go.

MM: Can you set the record straight about your injury record? There’s this perception that you left Montpellier because of it. Our recollection is that you had one big injury in 2018, but recovered and then had to fight your way back. The club also changed coaches four times while you were there. Now that we have the opportunity to speak to you, can you clarify?

KD: I did have a big injury, and after that one, there were minor ones after each other. I wouldn’t say they were major injuries that kept me out for months and months, but it was that as soon as I tried to get back to my normal self, I would get slowed down and spend another two weeks not training. I think it was also a mental thing, whereby I told you I had been struggling. Maybe my mental strength depleted and there was just a lot on my mind, which caused my body to suffer as well. It was a career shock for me, playing under a coach that wants you to play in a different position and you have to adjust to that as well as the league. It was just a shock for me, coming from South Africa, where I was loved by everyone and playing week in, week out. I was someone, then got to Europe and realised I had to start all over again. But I enjoyed myself in France, grew up a lot and learnt a lot too as a player. I feel like I am more mature… like I got better.

“At times, I was a bit selfish trying to compare myself with him.”

MM: You missed the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations because of those injuries, and Bafana Bafana ended up reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in six years after a memorable win over hosts Egypt. Stuart Baxter tried to get you to be available and it just didn’t happen.

KD: Before that tournament, I wasn’t playing a lot of games at Montpellier and I had a slight groin niggle. I got rested by the club for about two weeks before I came home to join the COSAFA (Cup) camp. That’s when I thought before I get back, I would be able to join that team and get minutes… that was the discussion with coach Stuart at the time. Unfortunately, when I got to camp, the injury just got bigger and it had become a grade two strain on my groin. I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t do anything and I was gutted because that was a group of players that I had played with for the longest time as a Bafana player. It was so sad. I felt like as soon as I was about to get a breakthrough in terms of getting back to my normal self with confidence, there was always a small setback. It’s during that time I was asking what could be next now. I felt like if I played in that tournament, my opportunity of playing at Montpellier would have been better. Anyway, the boys did well. Mixed feelings of course, sadness and happiness. I was happy they did well, but sad because I wasn’t there to celebrate with them. But players like (Thembinkosi) Lorch showed what they are capable of in the highest platform in Africa. It’s one of the things I was happy about, the boys played well. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go further.

MM: Let’s fast-forward to the current Bafana team. How far can it go with a new coach (Hugo Broos), his ideas, and youth with a blend of experience? You are also one of the senior players here. What’s his message?

KD: This is my second camp now

under coach Hugo and he is the kind of person who pays attention to detail. He has a direction that he wants us to go in and (is) willing to work with everyone, willing to give them a chance. If you are not capable of following his direction and where he wants us to be, he will get other players to come in.You’ve noticed that in a lot of camps he has been giving other players opportunities, especially the youngsters. I feel like now that we are going to play the Afcon qualifiers, he will know what the team needs like he did after the World Cup qualification rounds. He tried to bring in a few more experienced players by calling up (Thabang) Monare, (Mothobi) Mvala and others that are a bit stronger. You can see he has intentions to build a team for the future. I think right now it is about finding the right balance. We have good young players, and with games like this against the world’s best, we can see who can play for Bafana and who is ready to compete. We can’t keep playing against teams like Swaziland (Eswatini) or other neighbouring countries. If you are going to qualify for the World Cup, these countries are usually not there as part of the tournament, so this game is meant to show us who we are and what to improve on.

MM: The Afcon qualifiers are going to need true grit, so how can we find balance between playing the best of the best and teams similar to one we’ll eventually face?

KD: I played in the CAF Champions League and with the U23s. Luckily for me, I started playing in these competitions at a young age. We need more than that as South Africa, we need the U17 all the way to the senior team to be qualifying for the Afcon and beat every team in the COSAFA region. It starts with them so that when they do come into Bafana, it’s not a shock to them to travel to Ivory Coast for the first time and then only start getting used to the conditions, tactics and the way the teams play. I think once we start from U17s to U23, starting to prepare them from there… We can’t wait until the players get their first Bafana calls-ups and then expect them to do miracles and then things just happen overnight. That’s how we can start preparing for the future.

MM: Okay, let’s leave it there for now. KD: Awe! ❐