My entire body was in pain

“I think the technical team did not take his blunder very well.”

“He was consistent, determined and played the game with passion.”

It is often said that goalkeepers mature with age, and this is proving true in the case of Namibian international Lloyd Kazapua, who has hit stupendous form since the start of the season for Chippa United, winning two Man of the Match gongs in seven starts. In this interview with Soccer Laduma’s Thomas Kwenaite, he reveals how gutted he was after conceding at the death to both Maritzburg United and recently Mamelodi Sundowns. He also reveals what compatriot Peter Shalulile told him after his last-gasp winner in the aforementioned match and pinpoints a former Moroka Swallows striker as the toughest opponent he has ever come across. Read on!

Thomas Kwenaite: Let’s first talk about your Man of the Match performance in Chippa United’s recent game against Mamelodi Sundowns…

Lloyd Kazapua: I felt really good that my performance warranted an award like that. Sometimes you have to bring you’re a-game when you come up against those big teams because inevitably, you will be tested. It is twice now for me winning the Man of the Match award since the beginning of the season. I was very proud about this achievement, but I also felt sad that we lost the match.

TK: How do you prepare for such a dominant side like that?

LK:

Preparation was okay. We had a game plan set out for them and so we knew what to expect, but eish. Prior to that, we played Golden Arrows and had a bad start to the game. We were three down at halftime, but we came back in the second half and almost equalized, but we lost the game ended 3-2. That’s how football is sometimes and so we just switched on for the next game as matches are coming thick and fast. There is just no time to think about the game you lost and so forth, you just have to move on to the next game.

TK: What inspired you to perform so well against the defending champions?

LK:

My performances are just based on the person that I am. I always want to do the best for the team; I always want to help the team to succeed and maintain consistency. You know once everyone is putting in the effort, the team is bound to do well. At half-time, the coach told us to continue doing what we had done throughout the first half. He encouraged us to double our effort and that we would be rewarded. At the break, it was still 0-0 and he told us to continue and minimise our mistakes. He said he liked our positive attitude and our application and to continue in the same vein in the second half.

TK: So, how did you feel conceding to your countryman, Peter Shalulile, so late in the game?

LK: Eish (Sighs) … it felt bad and I also felt bad because the previous game against Maritzburg United, I conceded in the 90th minute. Against Sundowns I also conceded in the 90th minute. Leading up to that game, you know, we (Shalulile and I) were making fun of each other and I remember, as a parting shot, I teased him, “Bra, you ain’t going to get nothing!” But eish, it’s good for him that he scored. I congratulate him because he is such a hardworking fellow, but bad for me I guess. It’s bad, yeah, but that’s football and you have to accept what God grants you at the end of the day.

TK: Did you get to chat to Shasha at the end of the game? LK: We spoke after the game and the first thing he said was, “You guys were marking me very tight!” I said, “Yeah, it was the game plan.” He is the kind of striker you have to be tight with. You cannot afford to give a player like that too much room. If you give him a little chance, he will punish you. In that game, I think he only got one chance and look what happened? In turn, he also congratulated me on my performance and told me to keep working hard. We always encourage each other to keep on working and that’s what he basically did at the end of the match. Thank God for the talent, and we continue pushing.

TK: It was, of course, after that game that coach Daine Klate was let go by the team. How did you as players react to the news?

LK:

Football is a tough business and you don’t want to react. The thing with him was like, the next day we found out about it and it was … it came as a total shock, you know. I mean, we had a really good game against Sundowns the previous day. So, I was like, “Is it true?” But in football, it is what it is. The mood was a bit down at training afterwards because we didn’t really know. We were not really sure whether he would be coming back, but the mood was really down, players were not okay.

TK: Moving on… Who facilitated your move to come and play in South Africa?

LK: It was an ex-international player called Congo Hindjou. He took me to Highlands Park, who signed me after an assessment. It wasn’t really a good stay, you know. I didn’t get to play much. But I learned quite a lot, the environment was conducive for one to learn a lot of things there. I learned how things are done in the country and it was a good place to start a career. They loaned me out to Maccabi FC, where I put in a couple of games under my belt and kind of established myself in the local football industry.

TK: You are described as a sweeper-keeper. Did you learn this craft from former Highlands Park goal

keeper Tapuwa Kapini? LK:

Training with a guy like Tapuwa, you are bound to learn a few things from him. I am the type of person that is always open to learn from the next person and so, I tried to see what he was good at and where I could improve by watching and training with him. He has always been a good motivator. If you look at him, he has always been very comfortable with the ball on his feet, that’s the type of things he taught us.

TK: You also spent some time at Baroka FC, where you played second-fiddle to Oscarine Masuluke.

LK:

I signed there, but I had issues with registration for the first round and so that’s why I struggled to get into the team. I played second-fiddle to Elvis Chipezeze because Masuluke had not yet arrived. He joined soon after I left for Cape Umoya FC.

TK: How did you join Chippa United? LK:

I had a good season with Cape Umoya in the NFD (National First Division, officially called the Motsepe Foundation Championship) and I think they had been monitoring me. That’s how Chippa recruited me and it has been a good experience thus far. I remember my first match was against Marumo Gallants and even though we ended up losing 3-2, it was quite a really good game. I enjoyed myself.

TK: How much do you remember about your international debut for Namibia against Ghana in 2014?

LK:

I remember coming on at halftime against Ghana for my debut. The first-choice goalkeeper in that match committed an unfortunate blunder, from which Sulley Mohammed scored in the 28th minute. He didn’t have a particularly good opening 45 minutes. I think the technical team did not take his blunder very well and put me in at the start of the second half. I was naturally nervous, but luckily for me, I got a few touches on the ball and the nerves disappeared after that. I kept a clean sheet, but we lost the game 1-0.

TK: How much have you learned from coach Ricardo Mannetti?

LK:

I just have to thank God Almighty for the blessing that He brought to us for giving us a guy like coach Ricardo to work with, because that guy taught us a lot of things. He taught us not just football but also things that personally I still I apply to negotiate my way through life’s challenges. I have always listened to his words of advice and I really appreciate what he has done to some of us. He was a father figure, he would tell you things and knowing that he has gone through the same things, you would take it to heart because you are bound to go through them some time in your life.

TK: Talking of the national team, did you call the Brave Gladiators after their loss to Banyana Banyana in the semi-finals of the COSAFA Cup recently? LK: I spoke to them and informed them that although football is results-orientated, once you had given it your all, there is nothmore ing you can do. I also told them that despite the loss, they nevertheless had a good game. It was just lapses in concentration and it ended how it did. I told them they had to be encouraged by their performance considering that there had been no active league football back home for almost five years now.

TK: How do you feel as a player knowing that foothas ball grind to a halt in Namibia? LK: Eish… sad. The fact that there hasn’t been active football for almost five years back home means talents are being lost. Namibia offered us a platform that allowed some of us to be scouted in South Africa. We ended up playing in the national team, but today we have brothers, friends, people who are very talented but cannot showcase their Godgiven talents due to circumstances beyond their control. Some have been forced to change careers just to put bread on the table. It is deeply saddening.

TK: On a lighter note, and before we let you go, who is your favourite player andwhy? LK: My favourite player is and has always been the late former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa, because of his story. The things that he went through, the way he persevered and fought his way into the first team is nothing but inspirational. And when he broke into the first team, the whole world got to know the kind of talent that he was. He was consistent, determined and played the game with passion. He played to win and hated losing. I admired his work ethic. In every game that he played, he gave it his all and was always on top of his performances.

TK: And your toughest opponent? LK:

Senegalese striker Mame Niang. I faced him in a Nedbank Cup game and I was with Maccabi and he was playing for Tuks. He challenged every aerial ball and I was forced to come out. I am a guy that wants to come out to cut crosses and command my area by collecting every ball, but Niang made it very tough for me. At the end of that game, I had to get an ice bath for 30 minutes. My entire body was in pain because he hit me very hard. He fought with his hands, elbows and charged at you at every opportunity. He is a fighter hey, and a very tough guy to play against.

TK: Thank you very much Lloyd. LK: My greatest pleasure, grootman (big man)! ❐