What Chippa promised me…

“She is the only woman that I live for in this life.”

When Chippa United boss Siviwe ‘Chippa’ Mpengesi moved the club to Port Elizabeth (now called Gqeberha) from Cape Town in 2014, one of his plans was to see talented young players from the disadvantaged areas of the province get opportunities at professional football. The chairman has certainly delivered in that regard and one of his latest recruits is 19-year-old Azola Matrose. Following his promotion to the first team prior to the start of the season, the young player has made notable progress so far. Soccer Laduma’s Masebe Qina caught up with Matrose to talk about his journey thus far from when and how it all started for him in the game to when he was promoted to the Chilli Boys’ first team. He also has a special message

for Mpengesi.

Masebe Qina: Welcome to the pages of Soccer Laduma. Who is Azola Matrose?

Azola Matrose: I’m Azola Matrose and I come from a township called Walmer in Gqeberha. I was raised by a single parent, my mother, and I stay with her, my sister and cousin, who also plays football and is currently playing for a local team in Walmer, Heroes FC. I’m still a student and I go to Walmer High School, and I’m in Grade 11. Before I went to Chippa (United), I was also playing for a local team in Walmer, Real Madrid. That’s where the Chippa United U18 coach spotted me and took me to the club. The coach was close to coach Gavin Hunt and when I was recruited, I thought he was going to take me to the DStv Diski Challenge team, but I was shocked when I moved from the U18 team straight to the first team and I’m grateful for that. I think I was with the U18 team for only a year before I was moved to the first team.

MQ: At school, how do they feel about your rise to stardom?

AM: (Giggling) They treat me the way that I want to be treated and there’s nothing special about how I’m being treated. But sometimes I can see that there is a little bit of a change in how I’m being treated. For example, after I scored against SuperSport United and won the Man of the Match award, the principal asked me to come to school with the award that I got from the game. I was called to stand in front of the students in assembly and I was given a round of applause by all the students, and it felt so nice and special.

MQ: How do you manage juggling between football and your studies?

AM: I do manage because we have a WhatsApp group where schoolwork gets shared and I take advantage of that and make use of it. I also always make sure that I ask for schoolwork and what was done in my absence and try to catch up. If there was a test that

was written in my absence, I get to write on a different date as arranged by the school.

MQ: How do your family and friends in Walmer feel about your rise to the top?

AM: My friends are so happy and they’ve been congratulating me. What I like about this is that those who are playing are showing seriousness in their football and are motivated because they can see that one of their own has made it to the professional ranks and they are encouraged to also do it. At home, they are so happy for me and for what I’ve achieved. My mother is so proud of me and even when I signed my professional contract, she was there to witness it all. She is so happy for my progress and, like I mentioned, she raised me as a single parent because my father passed away in 2011. I was still in Grade 3 at the time and I was very young, and I don’t remember much about him. My mother has always been very supportive of my career and she understands football. Even now that I’ve turned professional, she’s been watching my games and is always giving me feedback on how she thinks I performed. When I arrive at home after a game, she would be like “Wena (you) Azola, awufun’ ukhaba (you don’t want to kick). Why didn’t you kick there?”We would end up laughing about it and it always feels nice when that happens (laughs). I always appreciate the feedback that I get from my mother and I wish she can continue like that.

MQ: When did your love for football begin?

AM:

I started playing football at a very young age. Like I said, I was playing for Real Madrid in Walmer and that is where I grew up playing for the club’s juniors and, at the age of 15, I had already been promoted to the first team. Throughout my career, I’ve always been playing with players that are older than me and I’m used to it by now.

MQ: What was it like signing your first pro deal in your mother’s presence?

AM: It was overwhelming. I was surprised when it happened because I didn’t expect it that early in my career. I had thought that I’d need to first play for the DStv Diski Challenge team before making it to the first team. I still remember the day when I signed, and it was raining. It was so rainy that we were not even able to train on the field and we had an indoor training session at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium that day. I remember being called before the training session by Mr. Morgan (Mammila), who was the manager at the time and is now our assistant coach, and he told me that he wanted to see my parents. I had been invited to train with the first team and it was more like being on trial. I told him that my mother is always at home because she is unemployed. To my surprise, as I was getting ready for training, coach Gavin Hunt asked me if I had spoken to Mr. Morgan yet and I told him that I did. After the training session, Mr. Morgan told me that I’d be getting a lift from him to go back home. Indeed, I travelled with him, and we were in the company of coach Bruce (Julu), who coached me in the U18 team. In the other car, which was also travelling with us, there was my former coach from the team I played for in Walmer because he had transported me to training that day and was told not to leave because there was this plan that the club’s officials would be travelling with us after training to take me home. On our way, I was so curious because I saw some papers and, although I wasn’t sure, I did suspect that it was the contract and I did suspect that I was going to sign. When we arrived at home, Mr. Morgan confirmed to my mother that they were there to inform her that the club was offering me a professional contract. I then signed and my mother almost cried that day. She was so excited.

MQ: What do you plan to do for your mother now that you are earning a salary as you say she is unemployed? AM:

I have big plans for my mother, and she is the only woman that I live for in this life. She went through a lot in making sure that we had everything we needed while raising us. I dream of buying her a townhouse and taking her out of the township.

MQ: Let’s move on. How did it feel to train and rub shoulders with the first team players at Chippa for the first time?

AM: It was intimidating at first because, suddenly, I found myself rubbing shoulders with players that I used to see on television. From the very first day I trained with them, I told myself that I’d work hard to be a role model to some people out there because some of these guys that I play with now had been my role models, so I also want to be a role model to someone. As time went on, I got used to them being my teammates and they welcomed me very well. I remember my first game in the PSL, we were playing against Royal AM away and I came on as a substitute. Unfortunately, we lost 1-0, and I had come on in the last few minutes of the game. Our coach back then was Gavin Hunt and in my next game we were already being coached by coach Kurt Lentjies. I’ve been pleased with my journey so far.

MQ: You scored a cracker of a goal against Bafana Bafana’s number one goalkeeper Ronwen Williams when you played SuperSport United last month.

AM: Yho, I was very excited and I didn’t even know how to celebrate after scoring that goal. I just decided to run towards our bench to celebrate with our technical team in appreciation of the opportunity that they had given me to play in the team. I was so happy that they believed in me and gave me a chance to play in such a big game like that and I thanked them. I remember that goal as if it happened yesterday. I remember that the angle was kind of awkward and I had to cut in before taking the shot, and I just followed my instinct in taking that shot and put power behind it and it was a goal. Exciting stuff.

MQ: You’re now working under Lentjies, himself a former professional footballer.

AM: It’s so nice working with him and what I enjoy the most about working with him is that he believes in young players. He likes players who work hard and he rewards them with game-time in his team. He likes players who are not lazy and players who know how to rectify their mistakes.

MQ: What’s been your best game so far in the topflight?

AM: I actually have two. The first one was (against) Kaizer Chiefs and the second one was against SuperSport. In that Chiefs game, that was the real me for those who don’t know how I play. I don’t know… maybe it’s because I grew up supporting Chiefs (giggling). (Siphiwe) Tshabalala was my favourite Chiefs player, but as you know, he is no longer with the club. I was so overwhelmed coming out of the tunnel alongside Chiefs players and getting into the field with them was something else (laughs). I must be honest though that I was so nervous before the game, although I managed to calm down after a few touches during the game. It was a dream come true. I remember having a conversation with (Eva) Nga before the game and we were discussing how I should try and assist him for a goal. He was also telling me how I should play my normal game and not be intimidated by Chiefs players as they are also human beings like us. I tried to give

him an assist, but it wasn’t to be. I came close to scoring myself after beating (Ramahlwe) Mphahlele to a ball, but it wasn’t to be after being one-versus-one with the goalkeeper.

MQ: You must have a special message for Chippa chairman Siviwe ‘Chippa’ Mpengesi for the platform he’s given you…

AM:Yes, of course, I do have a message for the chairman and I’m grateful for the platform that he has given me. I remember the night before the SuperSport game that the chairman sent me a nice WhatsApp message to wish me luck. In fact, he also called me and he congratulated me for my performance against Chiefs. He said I played well and that I should continue like that. He said if I continued like that, I’d go far in my career. He said I shouldn’t be scared of anything and promised that he will take care of me. I’d like to thank the chairman for acknowledging the work that I do for the team and his positive feedback because that is so encouraging. I promise that I will keep on doing great work for the team.