I’m reaping the fruits

Thuso Phala - Former Mamelodi Sundowns winger

different leagues around the globe. Anyone who says this country is short on young talent needs to

Sphephelo ‘Yaya’ Sithole’s career is well on track. He left a good impression on South Africans during his debut in the 2-1 loss to Morocco in what was a hostile environment for coach Hugo Broos to throw a youngster in. His manner of play has been likened to that of Yaya Toure, rightly so, and the fact he went straight from an academy to ply his trade in Europe gives an indication of how many little-known, if not completely ignored Mzansi gems are littered in have their head checked, and the Ulundiborn midfield kingpin is considered the face of the rebirth of underachieving Bafana Bafana. The lanky find has been away from ‘home’ since 14, albeit in the KZN Academy until 18, and endured the ravages of homesickness from the

moment he touched down in Portugal, all the while adapting to the language and culture of the locals. Sphephelo Sithole – remember the name. Soccer Laduma’s Masebe Qina had the privilege of speaking to the 23-year-old about his burgeoning career.

Masebe Qina: Yaya, you’ve been in Portugal for over five years…

Sphephelo Sithole: Yes, but the journey has not been easy because when I came here, I was a young boy and I started learning everything here in Portugal – the way of living life, planning and everything. So, I started at Sporting (Lisbon) and I was there for one-and-a-half seasons and I then went to the other club (Vit ria de Setubal FC U23). It hasn’t been an easy journey because when I got here, I was 18 and didn’t know how to speak Portuguese. Here, most of the people don’t speak English at all, so you need to adjust to the environment and everywell thing in order for you to perform because if you are not happy and do not talk to anyone, it becomes difficult to be at your best.

MQ: What about the lifestyle and language?

SS: Everything is fine now, and I can speak Portuguese fluently. Everything is becoming easier and I’m starting to enjoy living here. Okay, not that I’m starting now, but now I feel home because I can speak with anyone and at any time and when I go to the shop, I’m able to order something in Portuguese without any problem. So, now everything is easy because anywhere in Lisbon where I go, I don’t experience any problem as I’m familiar with the place, which is the most important thing. I have places to go to when I’m stressed or bored and I have people to chill with. If you want to get used to a place and enjoy, you need to be patient with yourself and start learning

the way of living.

MQ: Sure…

SS: At first, it wasn’t easy, I won’t lie. I was alone and I was a young boy who didn’t know anything and couldn’t even communicate with my teameverything. mates. I was just shy and It wasn’t an easy journey, but that made me grow as a player and that made me to be a better person in life. That made me to be where I am today because if I didn’t go past those challenges, I don’t think I’d be where I am today. So, that helped me a lot to learn so many things and it helped me to never give up in life. I think it was good for me to be in that position and at that time. Like I said, when I came here, I was 18 and it was not easy because of many things, including food, (the) language barrier and not having friends and sometimes I would find myself thinking about going back home. As an 18-year-old boy… can you imagine?

But before I moved to Portugal, I had been staying in an academy. I left home when I was 14 and went to Durban, where I was with the academy. So, I managed the homesickness because I knew what I wanted and I just told myself to keep on pushing knowing that everything would be alright. That’s what I did and now I’m reaping the fruits.

MQ: Despite all that you’d been through, many fans back home only started noticing you when you got called up to Bafana Bafana for the first time against Morocco.

SS: Ja, I know that people didn’t know about me at all, so that is true. Getting the recognition from home is a good thing. But when I was 18 or 19, I did get called up for the U20 and U23 national teams, but I didn’t get a chance to showcase my talent at the time because a lot of things happened.

Sometimes they would call me, but I wouldn’t be able to come because of my documents that were not sorted. But when I got a chance with Bafana Bafana, which is the opportunity I had been waiting for, I told myself that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I needed to grab it with both hands, which I did. I think I’ve used that chance as a platform to showcase my talent to the people in Mzansi.

MQ: And they seem to admire you and appreciate your style of play!

SS: Awu man, it feels good, it feels really good. It feels great to get the support of people from my own country. At first, they didn’t know me and they didn’t know how I play. Now they

know what I’m capable of and everything, and I really appreciate it. To

everyone who supports me, it means a lot to me as their support makes me to

keep pushing.

MQ: A lot has been said about the national team’s disappointing results in recent years. Is this the new dawn?

SS: Ja, man, I think we must just forget about the past, the past is the past. We just need to move on and focus on the future. I know that it hasn’t been easy for our country and the fans have been complaining that we are not getting anywhere, but now I think everyone can see that we’ve started building with a new team, which is good. This generation has a lot of quality to compete with the best in the world, so I think we can do it. They just need to be patient with us. I know that with being patient, some people, or some of the fans, will lose it along the way, but that’s the way it is. We can’t just be a team that is going to compete against Spain after one or two years, we need time. We need time to know each other and everything, especially for someone like me because I’ve never played with some of the players and I didn’t even know them. So, I need to know them first and gel with them to be able to get the combinations out of us and that’s very important. We just need to be patient and keep on working because good things are still going to come as we’re really working hard on it.

MQ: What’s been your impression of coach Hugo Broos at Bafana?

SS: Working with coach Hugo Broos is good and it is always an honour to work with someone who has experience in football. He has experienced a lot and he has even won the Afcon. He has the experience in football, especially in African football. It’s good and we are learning from him every time. He is a good coach and I think the country is getting there and he is going to get us where we need to be.

MQ: Of course, you have fellow countrymen Kobamelo Kodisang and Luther Singh also playing in Portugal.

SS: It feels good, man. But because we are not living in the same city, it isn’t often that we meet with each other. Luther is in Chaves and that’s about five hours from where I am, and Kodisang is in Porto and that’s like four hours from here, so we see each other when we play against each other. But it feels good as I even got to play against Kodisang last season and unfortunately, I lost the game (giggling).

MQ: When did it all start for you? SS: It was in December of that year, and KZN Academy had come to Ulundi to conduct trials and Paulo Cardoso, the scout who scouted Cristiano Ronaldo, was there and he spotted me. I was told that I should go to Durban for the final selection process, and I think we were close to 150 trialists and they needed to select only 18 players to represent the KZN Academy in a tournament (overseas) and I was among those chosen and I was 14 years old. We played against the likes of Sporting, Benfica, Santos from Brazil and Arsenal. It was a good tournament, which afforded me an opportunity to compete with some of the best players from around the world. At the KZN Academy, I played with guys like Thabo Cele, Nkanyiso Zungu, Sandile Mthethwa from Orlando Pirates and many others. Maybe 90% of the players from that group are now playing professional football. The academy was lucky to have those players in that group.

MQ: Growing up in Ulundi, how was life?

SS: It was good. When you grow up in a certain place, you will always love that area no matter what or where you go and whenever you come back to the place, you’ll always feel at home. Life was good and I enjoyed my childhood. My mother is a teacher, so I’m not coming from a disadvantaged family. I can safely say that I used to get everything that I wanted and the support that I’ve always got from my mother is major. My family feel good about me and they are honoured and say I’ve made them proud.

MQ: Keep flying the flag! SS: Thanks, outhi yam (my friend), will talk to you soon. ❐

took the game to Chiefs and I don’t think our technical team and players expected such an approach. Our boys in defence had a bad day at the office and it happens to the best. It’s important for the team to put the loss behind them and try to do better before the World Cup break. The disappointing part is the number of chances our players squander and that should be rectified urgently. Malesela “Dance” Boya, Kanana, Hammanskraal

After winning three in a row, I thought we’d go on and claim a fourth win… to no avail. Last week, I wrote about the team missing so many scoring opportunities and it seems nothing has improved, though the boys are playing beautiful football. I thought Chippa dominated us, even though I was watching with the corner of my eye, as I was busy at my spaza joint preparing Kota and chips for my customers. But soon as we took the lead, I though we’d consolidate and go home with the three points. The prospect of going top of the log was never lost on me. The feature on our new striker in last week’s edition, titled, “Is Caleb Chiefs’ answer?” was spot-on. My two cents? The jury is still out. He’s not too bad a player, but his finishing leaves a lot to be desired. I’m heartbroken as I ink this brief. Khosi 4 Life! Marvin Matseke-Mabula, Burgersfort, Leboeng Rutseng

Maart, Du Preez, Sithebe and Dolly are really letting the team down. When Khanye spoke about a schemer in the middle of the park, I didn’t take him seriously, but now I can see that shortfall. Chiefs need a Ndlondlo type of player but more aggressive in approach. Bimenyimana lacks proper supply and there’s no way he’s going realise his dream of scoring goals in open play regularly. And as usual, Chiefs must donate goals to the opposition. I wonder who’s going to replace Khune when the time comes – it’s a disaster. Lastly, Zwane must ask for a co-coach because Sheppard, for me, is a non-starter. This reconstruction needs the right coaches and not just anyone, otherwise this rebuilding phase will take forever. Hofmeyr Kwitshana, via e-mail

I’ve been observing Zwane’s mannerisms towards his fellow assistant and certain players ever since he took over the reins. I’m not impressed. With that kind of attitude, he’s deemed to fail because most successful coaches are who they are because of their support staff. I believe Chiefs should look for a suitable coach to replace him as soon as possible. Zwane hasn’t achieved anything, but he behaves like a Jose Mourinho. It’s going to take more than a decade for Chiefs to reclaim their glory whilst the Motaung family still controls everything. For Chiefs to become what they were in the ’90s, they need to sell some stake to someone outside the family and get rid of the Motaung offspring. Thulani Wogqoyi, Frankfort

Quick One-Two’s

The contents of my letter published at the beginning of August had many readers thinking I was losing it. What’s happening at Usuthu is what I spoke about. They did not raid the market in the last transfer window. They benefited from the PSL ‘surplus’. There’s no way they can build a team around players like Mphahlele, Maluleka and Mhango. Such players have long reached their sell-by dates. Chiefs, Pirates and Sundowns are doing well because they got rid of such deadwood. I still want to see Mabiliso being utilised to the best of his ability because at the moment he’s fumbling. Three wins, three draws and four losses, with 12 points out of a possible 30 collected, is not a reflection of an

ambitious team. The loss to Richards Bay and the draw to Pirates is reason enough to press the panic button. I don’t believe Truter when he says he was not pushed. He was not a perfect acquisition due to the big boots left by Benni and he knew he wouldn’t be able to fill them. I don’t see Romain Folz succeeding there. The problem is not the coaching staff but the whole organogram. Mhlangabezi Kutuka, Manzimdaka & Cape Town

MTN8 first leg semi-finals were a cagey affair. Bucs v Downs was a technical battle. This time around, there is no time to assess each other and individual brilliance is needed. Form will be thrown out of the window and the most well prepared team will prevail. Bucs has been struggling to find the back of the net and Downs have struggled to get their fluent passing game together. We can’t go to penalties. Chiefs v AmaZulu was ill-tempered, with lots of players having a point to prove. AmaZulu got the away goal, but will the coaching change play in their favour? Zwane is under pressure to progress and Folz has to prove he has what it takes to be a top mentor in the PSL. Wafa Wafa! Gavin Ryan, Emalahleni

I think it’s about time Bucs management let go of Lorch. His mind is not at Pirates anymore and I’m even starting to believe the boy is faking his injuries. Every time he steps into the pitch, he gets injured! We can’t keep on worshipping somebody who’s doing nothing for the team. Pirates was there before Lorch and it will be there even if he’s gone. Let the management release him to Sundowns and we’ll see after one season if he’ll still be the same Lorch. Let him go and ask Teko, Manyisa, Tso, Maluleka and Lebese. Pirates have plenty of players, it’s just that our coaches are failing to utilize them according to their strength. We still have Pule, Ndlondlo, Mosele and Erasmus, so we can prosper without Lorch. Please, Dr Khoza, release the boy before we have a disoriented dressing room. Sibusiso Khumalo, Melmoth, KZN

Not long ago, I wrote complaining of our coaches not giving a chance to our development players. On Friday, they made me eat humble pie when they handed Mailula a rare start and the boy didn’t disappoint. He’s a marvel to watch and is going far if he remains level-headed. This encourages more youngsters to double their efforts. Good to see players from our development being recognised. It was also good to see Royal AM and Marumo Gallants progressing to the next round of the Confed Cup. Hard luck to Cape Town City. You lost because you were up against a well-prepared team. Try against next season. Tente “The Brains” Mokoka, Sepharane

In Liverpool v Man City and the El Clasico, the results were never going to come out as they seemed on paper, especially because in Europe, teams protect and take pride in not losing cheaply to the visitors. The home teams prevailed. I expected Liverpool to hand Man City their first loss. Haaland’s human after all. Now that there’s no 0 in the ‘L’ column on the EPL log anymore, expect Man City to be ruthless in their approach considering that Haaland has gone two games without scoring and that Arsenal are riding a wave. But I honestly don’t believe that Arsenal have the stamina to carry them through to the end. Even Jesus won’t save them from Haaland. Lucky Khunou, Meriting