Their crosses were like passes
The old adage, “Better late than never”, couldn’t hold more truer for Mamelodi Sundowns’ star defender Lyle Lakay right now. Given his finely crafted and mature exploits for the
club in recent times, his exclusion from Bafana Bafana over the past year caused some bemusement amongst football fanatics. Unbothered by that, the Cape Town-born defender kept his head above the water and remained consistent, so much
so that Hugo Broos could no longer ignore him, calling him up for the
national team’s recent international friendlies against Guinea and France respectively. Still, there is a feeling among football fans that there is more to come from the 30-year-old with a sweet left foot. Soccer Laduma’s Tumelo Letlhaku caught up with ‘Lalas’
on his recent experiences….
Tumelo Letlhaku: Lyle, how are you? It’s been a hectic schedule for you, hasn’t it?
Lyle Lakay: I’m great, thanks. It certainly has been. I’m at the mall with my wife and daughter as we
speak right now. Good to squeeze in some quality family time with them because it has been crazily busy on my side.
TL: You got a Bafana Bafana call-up for the recent friendly matches against Guinea and France. Must have been excited that coach Hugo Broos finally gave you a look at…
LL: I was definitely elated. Knowing that I was going to get a chance to test myself against top players against Guinea and the world champions was a moment to look forward to when my name was announced. Yes, we got a hiding against France, ha, ha, ha, but it was certainly lessons learnt.
TL: How did you feel whenever the squad was named and your name wasn’t there knowing how well you’ve been doing at club level?
LL: Look, every player wants to play for the national team and I was no different. There’s something very special that comes from representing your country and I wanted to experience that, especially now at this stage of my career when a lot is falling into place. It did get a bit demoralizing whenever the squad was announced and I’d think, ‘This is it, I’ll get called up too.’ But I told myself it wasn’t the end of the world and that if it happens, it happens
and if it doesn’t, then it’s still okay. I knew I had to keep working hard and improve with every game and that’s what I did.
TL: When Broos came in, he set out on building a youthful side. You are 30. How did that make you feel?
LL: I wasn’t discouraged at all, if I must be quiet honest. I knew I deserved a call-up because I had been doing well (Mamelodi) Sundowns, but I also knew I’m not guaranteed one. The coach’s decision is final and needs to be respected. I took it well. I just kept pushing myself and focused on my game at Sundowns and I’m happy the coach called me up.
TL: People have also been vocal and calling for your Downs teammates Themba Zwane and Andile Jali to be called up to Bafana as well. Is the door still open for them, in your opinion?
LL: I would assume so. And knowing Themba and AJ’s characters, I know they would take it the same way I took it. They aren’t discouraged at all, hence you see them continuing to put in the good work week in and week out. They have been there before and I believe when the time is right, they will be called back, but for now, they are good professionals and know what needs to be done.
TL: There’s a lot that went right against Guinea and a lot more that went wrong for you guys against France. As a result, people are saying that more than ever, this is now the time to call up experienced players to Bafana. Do you agree?
LL: I’d agree, to a certain extent. Yes, we have few players that are inexperienced, but if you listen to the coach, he’s said it before that he’s looking to rebuild a new team and you’d understand where he’s coming from. It is a bit tricky because experience is key to blend in with the youngsters, but as I said before, the coach’s decisions need to be respected I can see his vision. He’s the one who knows what he wants and how he wants to build. You can see even with the Guinea and France friendly games, it was all about giving the young players the much-needed
experience. Many
don’t realise what that meant for team... the lessons that came out of
that heavy defeat. We lost against the very best in the world, surely that taught us a lot going forward. It’s all about what the coach wants and people need to respect his objectives.
TL: You guys had a good showing against Guinea prior to the France defeat…
LL: Exactly. Of course, people will only look at the result against France and not the good one against Guinea. I mean, there were top players in that Guinea team – the guy who used to play for Barca (Ilaix Moriba), there was one of AS Roma too (Amadou Diawara) … but people only chose to focus on the France defeat.
TL: What were your first impressions of coach Broos?
LL: Top coach. Very relaxed and reserved. He observed a lot during the training sessions. He didn’t really say much to me when I joined the camp. There were a couple of times in training when he called me and advised me on what to do and how to do things. I did say to Ronwen (Williams) that the coach is very relaxed and you can see his experience just from how he conducts training sessions. If you look at the average age in the squad, we are definitely in good hands and heading in a good direction with him, and if it means that will be taking a bit of time, then so be it.
TL: You recently had a go at a fan on your Instagram post who cheekily commented that you smiled when Kylian Mbappe scored his first goal... LL: Ha, ha, ha. The reason I responded to that guy was because the cameras didn’t even show me when Mbappe scored. There’s no footage of me smiling. And why would I smile at the opposition scoring? I’m not crazy, ha, ha, ha. But look, we know how fans tend to be sometimes. We were speaking in camp and Thabang (Monare) was saying that people will always talk and sometimes their words will either motivate you or bring you down, and highlighted that we shouldn’t allow the negative comments to affect us.
TL: Speaking of Monare, we suppose you and him didn’t feel like outsiders given how long people had called for your selections?
LL: No, not at all. We didn’t feel like we were ‘pushed in’ the squad
if that’s what you referring to, ha, ha, ha. The guys made us feel welcome. The atmosphere was great. I mean, I’ve played with a majority of the guys for a long time, still am. I come a long way with Ronwen,
from our SuperSport United Academy days. I got along with Keagan (Dolly) from the previous camp as well and my Sundowns teammates, who have been in the squad for a while, were there too.
TL: Let’s chat about the France friendly a bit. You guys got a battering, didn’t you? What went wrong?
LL: For me personally, I’d say the gap is too big if you compare us to them. They were always a second ahead of us. With us, and I say us in general in the PSL, more often than not, when you make a mistake, you can easily get away with it. If you look at their second goal, Thabang tried to pass to (Bongokuhle)
Hlongwane and they intercepted it quickly and punished us. Those are the small things that made the difference. And also the way they rotated the ball (was good), and we tried to keep our shape, and it’s hard to do so for 90 minutes. They pounced at us at lightning speed. They didn’t even put more power, their crosses were like passes. But as I said, for me, I learnt a lot. Even with Antoine Griezmann, for instance, how he supported the fullback who was playing on my side, Jonathan Clauss… whenever he got the ball and I would go after him, Griezmann would identify that space behind me and would make use of it. So, for me, I don’t think we lost, but rather learnt.
TL: What was the half-time talk like?
LL: Look, it wasn’t that hectic. I mean, yes, it was concerning because we had already conceded and how we had conceded (was disappointing), but the coach just told us what we needed to rectify. It was positive. He just encouraged us to go out there and give it our all in the second half.
TL: He did say prior to the friendly games he’d rather lose to sides like France than play and win against smaller sides in the continent…
LL: And I agree with him. No disrespect to the neighbouring countries and opposition on the African continent, but that’s what we needed, to learn from losing to the best. The standard is high and if we are going to build a better national team, we need to play against the very best.
TL: Did the coach say anything to you about your involvement going forward? LL: No, he didn’t. He just spoke to all of us and told us he was happy with what he saw and that we achieved the objectives he set out and wished us well for the reminder of the season.
TL: Lastly, people had a lot to say about the selfies some of your teammates took on the pitch after the game…
LL: Ha, ha, ha, there goes people again, talking! If the score line was different, would they have talked about such? Look, people took the whole exchange of jerseys, especially, way out of context. We were asked whose jerseys we got and exchanged with, it’s not like we just went out and said we got this one and that one’s jerseys, you know. And I mean, it’s normal, players always exchange jerseys. I, for one, didn’t take pictures, but I did speak with Lucas (Digne), the left back, on the pitch, and (asked) if we could exchange jerseys in the change rooms because I wasn’t comfortable doing that on the field. And we did so in the change room.
TL: And Fagrie Lakay got Mbappe’s shorts?
LL: Ha, ha, ha, Fagrie. What a character he is that one.
TL: Changing tack, did you expect to be part of the Sundowns squad for the Champions League tie against Al-Merrikh on Saturday?
LL: No, not at all. We got back on Thursday late morning and trained the Friday, and I thought maybe because we just trained one day, we wouldn’t be included in the playing squad. Not that I am complaining because I was okay, I wasn’t jetlagged and I was ready. All four of us who were part of the national team sat on the bench and it was okay. It was good to be part of the team and support the guys.
TL: Would you say you are in a good space in your career right now?
LL: Definitely. It’s funny I was thinking about that just a few days ago, that I got the call-up, our confidence in the Champions League is higher now than it was the previous years, we are sitting top of the table and I’ve been putting in good performances for a while now. So, yes, definitely, I am pleased with how my career is going right now. I was telling some of my Cape Town brothers that having a steady life off the pitch helps too and that when they move to Joburg, they should always make sure they move with their girlfriends and wives because that will help them settle in and keep them focused on their football. Having my wife here has definitely helped me a lot because I go home to her and my child after training and they help take off the stress of the game. I often look back at times when I didn’t play, at teams when I felt I should have played. For instance, the time at Bloemfontein Celtic, under Ernst Middendorp, that was probably the worst time of my career. But I am thankful of all the hardships I experienced in the game to get to where I am today.
TL: Well Ly, we’re certainly enjoying this phase of your career and wish you all the very best. It was good catching up with you…
LL: Thank you so much, appreciate it. ❐
“The cameras didn’t even show me when Mbappe scored. ”
“…under Ernst Middendorp, that was probably the worst time of my career.”