Mokotjo: Underdogs bite
KAMOHELO Mokotjo and Sekhukhune United might have recently joined forces, but they seem to be a match made in heaven as they can both relate to being the ‘underdog’ heading into the Nedbank Cup final.
After captaining the SA Under12 team to the title in the Danone Nations finals in France two decades ago, Mokotjo was tipped to become one of South Africa’s finest exports.
It was a terrific start to his footballing career as Mokotjo received plaudits from greats such as Zinedine Zidane.
Mokotjo lived up to that lofty billing when he left SuperSport United to play in the Netherlands, England and the US.
After 11 years of carving his name in the history books of clubs such as Feyenoord (Netherlands), Brentford (England) and Cincinnati (US), Mokotjo heeded the call to come home this year.
With his pedigree, which has seen him earn 23 caps for Bafana Bafana, the big three – Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns – were expected to battle it out for his signature.
Instead, Sekhukhune landed Mokotjo without breaking a sweat on a one-and-a-half-year deal, starting from the second half of the season.
This move shocked local football experts but not Mokotjo who knew that he had to crawl before he could
run once again, especially after being sidelined for a while.
“For me, the important thing was to give myself a challenge. We spoke about underdogs; I have always been an underdog, I think – at every team I’ve gone to and national team here,” he said.
“I am someone who likes that title, so for me it was just a challenge to see which level I can get back to. I have challenged myself in a lot of ways: mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
“I know a lot of people expected me to make a transfer to one of the big three teams but that wasn’t my expectation because I know where I was coming from injury wise. I only had to prove a point to me.”
Mokotjo certainly has proved that he has what it takes to make a difference in the team, having been key in Babina Noko’s surge.
The Limpopo-based side qualified for the Caf confederation Cup next season by virtue of being in the Nedbank Cup final with Orlando Pirates, who’ll represent SA in the
Caf Champions League.
They finished seventh in the Premiership to qualify for the
MTN8 next season – an incredible achievement Mokotjo didn’t dream of when he returned to the country.
“No! I was just looking forward to playing some football, prove that I can get to an optimal level, and I think that by qualifying for three things, I can only feel happy about that,” Mokotjo said.
While Babina Noko have battled successfully to get this far in the
Cup, they’ll be underdogs against a Pirates team who’ve already won the MTN8 and finished second in the league.
That doesn’t faze Mokotjo, who knows all about being an underdog, so much so that he’s encouraged his teammates to enjoy the occasion and let the rest take care of itself.
“I think the underdog tag works for any team, but we’ll stick to our principles and enjoy the occasion – hopefully get the best out of it,” Mokotjo said.
The final will be played at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon.