That’s how I felt

Just before the start of last season, Lebohang Maboe was dealt a big blow when he sustained a knee injury that kept him out for almost the entire campaign. While Mamelodi Sundowns were cruising in all the domestic competitions, he had to go through so much in the process of recovery. With a positive mindset, the 27-year-old was able to make a return earlier than what was initially anticipated, much to the joy of the club’s faithful. With a new season upon us, talk about a man determined to make up for lost time. Soccer Laduma’s Tshepang Mailwane spoke to the former Maritzburg United star about the difficulties he went through and the new campaign.

Tshepang Mailwane: It was around this time last year when you sustained an injury that went on to keep you out for over half a season. How refreshing has it been to be part of preparations for the new season?

Lebohang Maboe: One thing about us professional footballers is that we’re not used to just sitting at home. We’re not used to not being part of the team or travelling. It took a lot from me, even mentally. It demanded me to stay focused and know that things were going to get better. Now I’m back at training and that’s where I want to be. That’s my happy place. So, it’s actually a big relief that I’m back in training. I feel a part of the team and I’m working hard for my position and expressing my talent on the field.

TM: What were you going through mentally?

LM: There are days where you feel like you’re not going to be the same. That’s the reality, I’m no longer going to be the same, but I have to turn that into a positive, not a negative. I’m no longer going to have the same ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) that I had. This is basically going to be my life. Fact is I’m not going to have the same knee I had before my injury, but it’s up to me to see how I look at it. If I look at it in a negative way, it will probably affect my performances, affect me, affect my whole life. If I look at it in a positive way, I can work hard and improve and go far beyond where I was before I got injured. That’s my mentality. That’s me challenging myself right now. This can’t stop me from achieving all the greatness that I’ve always wanted. More than anything, I feel like I owe it to a 10-year-old Lebohang Maboe, who had a dream of making it in a professional space. I wanted to express my talent and win trophies, you know.

TM: What support did you get from the club during that period?

LM: I honestly feel like it’s very important for a club to let you know what the situation is, and I feel like that was the case with me. They told me what the situation was and what was going to happen. I thought I was prepared. They told me that on some days, the knee won’t respond the way it did the previous day and sometimes I might feel like I won’t get better. But looking at guys like Vila (Sibusiso Vilakazi), he has had many operations, but look at him. The guy is still playing and he is still doing well. Having people like that, who will encourage you and who have felt what you are feeling, is great. The club has always been there and they helped me in whatever way I needed. They had the physios coming to my house to come help me. I had my teammates who I could also talk to. That helped me to get better because I felt like I was still part of the team. It was not like I was excluded. I really felt at home. Them creating that comfort space made me feel at ease and made me feel loved. That is very important. You are no longer the same after an injury, so you have to do a little bit more. You have to keep pushing yourself and be consistent in what you do.

TM: That makes perfect sense.

LM: Family as well. I don’t know what I could have done without my family. From the first day, my mom was there. Everyone was there, from the first day of my operation to the last day. They’ve been there for me. They really play an important role. You know sometimes a parent may not say anything, but just to see the pain in their eyes, just to see how much that hurts them, all it says to me is that, ‘You know what you have to do.’ I can’t let my family down and I can’t let myself down as well. All the sadness and tears … let’s turn it into joy now. That’s what I’m looking to do this season. All the pain, all the suffering, I just want to change that into a story that will hopefully inspire someone else who is going through a similar situation to the one I went through. It’s all in the mindset. If the mind is not right, then what are the chances of you coming back?

TM: Did a long-term injury change how you look at your career?

LM: Definitely, you start looking at things in a different way. You know how they always tell us that our careers are so short? When you are injured, you have so much time to reflect on other things. You get time to reflect on the good and bad times in your career. You get time to reflect on the goals you’ve set in your career and where you are with those goals. You have to start planning ahead. You have to look at things in a different way because you know that you are not going to be playing football forever. You’ve got to start planning. You’ve got to start drafting things down and having an idea of what you want to do after football. For me, it was about planning financially and knowing what I want to do after playing football. One thing for sure is that I know that I still want to be part of the game (after retirement) because I have a lot to give in the game. So, that’s what I mean by planning.

TM: You returned a couple of months earlier than expected. How did that happen?

LM: I was ahead of my programme. I would always go that extra mile. I’ve always stayed true to the process that I had. I never looked at the end product, I just focused on the now. I focused on what I had to do now. I would always push myself to the limit. They’d give me programmes to do at home. I never cheated myself. I did not want to live in regret. That’s why I’d always push myself and fight to be consistent. It’s difficult because you always want to be on the field. It’s like taking a sweet from a kid – that’s how I felt. It felt like a big chunk was taken away from me and the most important thing was me making peace with that. It has not been easy. There’s been blood, sweat … if my pillowcases could talk, I swear they would say a lot.

TM: Did you fear for your place in the team?

LM: One thing I like about my team is that we have healthy competition. I just see it as competition helping me to grow as a person and as a player. I wouldn’t really say that I feared, but I told myself that if I needed to give myself a chance of getting back into the team before the end of the season, I had to work hard and be consistent. That’s what I did. I would not say I feared because I know the competition in the team is very healthy. It’s not easy breaking into the team, but I believe in myself and the talent I have. I believe in the person that I am. I knew it was not going to be easy, but it was time for me to do my bit and help the team complete the remaining games to win the league and the Nedbank Cup. I had goals that I set for myself last season, which I could not achieve because of the injury, but going into this season, I’ve set goals again. If I’m to achieve those goals, I know what I have to do. I know I have to be consistent and push myself, even when my body does not allow it. But I know I need to give a bit more.

TM: What were the goals?

LM: Ha, ha, ha… Just to improve my stats. But let’s see what this season brings.

TM: As a team, you have an opportunity to win a sixth league title in a row…

LM: It’s going to be a difficult season. All the teams have brought new additions and they are obviously looking to compete. I know what we are capable of doing. In as much as it’s going to be a difficult season, I believe in Mamelodi Sundowns.

TM: It’s often said that it’s difficult

to defend a league title, but Sundowns have defended it four times now. Does it get easier to defend it?

LM: I don’t think it gets easier. It tells you how hungry we are. It tells you how unsatisfied we are. We know that we can do better. We always want to better what we did in the previous season. We can’t just be okay with winning it five times in a row. If Bayern Munich can win the Bundesliga many times, why can’t we keep on pushing? We are a driven team. We’ve got crazy ambitions. We are never satisfied. We want to keep on winning trophies. One day when we are no longer playing football, you want to hear people talking about us. We want to keep on making history.

TM: There’s also the CAF Champions League, which the team has been trying to win again since 2016.

LM: I think we’ve always fallen short, but we learn from our mistakes. We learn from the mistakes we made in last year’s Champions League. We know that we need to do things differently this season. We’ve had a talk about it, but let’s see what this season comes up with. We know that it’s the missing one. It’s the one that keeps on eluding us. We just want to dig a bit deeper this season.

TM: You’re up against Cape Town City in the season opener on Friday.

LM: It’s always difficult playing against Cape Town City. It’s the first game of the season and you don’t know what to expect from them. You don’t know if they’ve changed the way they play or if they are going to stick to how they’ve been playing. The first games are always tricky. You don’t know if any of the new additions to the squad will be playing. But I think it’s going to be a great football match, that’s for sure. When I look at the last few seasons, they are a ball-playing team and we are a possession-based team. It’s a very interesting one.

TM: Good luck then, Lebo. LM: Thank you. ❐