Ntuli has the talent to make it in big time
SOUTH African junior international Nhlakanipho Ntuli has recovered from his FC Twente disappointment and may be going back to Europe.
“Nanana” was let go by the Dutch club in January, two years into a five-year contract. In a cost-cutting bid the new owners at the club deemed Ntuli, and other players, surplus to requirements.
Ntuli returned home recently, but according to his business manager Mike Makaab, Belgian and Scandinavian clubs are after his services.
“Nana is training to keep fit at the moment and we’ve got him down at Ama-Zulu. We are very thankful to them that they have allowed him to train with them in Durban. You can do a lot in a gym, but you cannot replace what you do in a training field,” Makaab told the Sunday Times.
Ntuli was considered the country’s next best thing after he joined Twente when he turned 18 in 2014.
On his arrival at Twente, Ntuli was confident he would make it in The Netherlands going as far as saying that he planned to be better than Kamohelo Mokotjo.
Mokotjo, who has been called up to the Bafana Bafana squad to play Cameroon on March 26 and 29, is on Twente’s books. He is considered one of the best players in the Eredivisie.
In two years at the club, however, Ntuli only featured for their reserves and failed to make an official appearance for the senior team.
Makaab says the 20-year-old is in the right frame of mind after his exit from Twente, but has cautioned that he must have the “burning desire” to make it at the top as his management team work out a deal to have him return to Europe for next season.
“It is vital to do things well off the field as he does on the field and he knows that. I’m very close to him and I don’t regard him as a client. You can encourage people to do right and not only in football, but it’s got to come from within. If you don’t have the burning desire to be the best at what you do, you are not going to achieve anything no matter how much people motivate you. I’m hoping he’s got that burning desire, because he’s got great talent,” he said.
Makaab is convinced that Ntuli can still live up to initial expectations.
“Obviously that was a disappointment (leaving Twente) but it was beyond his control because at the end of the day the entire [Twente] management changed. They changed from the president to the vicepresident. I mean, the whole club has changed. I don’t have to tell you that new people come in with new ideas.
“It was an amicable parting and we did the settlement agreement. They are a topclass professional club, so they understood that the young man has to pursue his career [elsewhere]. They were magnificent in the way they handled it,” Makaab said.
The former Orlando Pirates academy graduate has played for the country’s under-17 and under-20 teams. On occasion, he also captained the two sides.
Back in 2014 Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba named Ntuli as one of the reserve players for matches against Sudan and Nigeria.
Ntuli was not available for comment.
❛ I’m hoping he’s got that burning desire, because he’s got great talent ❛ Obviously that was a disappointment but beyond his control