Banyana veteran living her Spanish dream

IT might have come in the twilight years of her career, but Noko Matlou is relishing the Spanish dream. She’s quick to acknowledge that in order to stay relevant and compete against the best she can’t afford to rest on her laurels.

After playing amateur and semi-professional football in the country, Matlou finally landed her first professional contract at the age of 35 late last year, signing for Spanish Primera Division side SD Eibar from Sasol League outfit MaIndies FC.

That move appeared to have taken forever to come, given that Matlou had done it all in local and international football. She had played in multiple Africa Women’s Cup of Nations tournaments, Olympic Games and her maiden Fifa Women’s World Cup.

Her individual success is also unprecedented. She’s the first Banyana Banyana player to win the coveted Africa Women’s Footballer of the Year award, while she sits above the 150 cap-mark for the national team since her debut in 2006.

But the football gods finally smiled on her last year in October after a teammate recommended her to the technical team of the newly promoted Eibar. She has grabbed the opportunity with both hands, playing in the last 10 consecutive matches.

“I am happy with my progress, although it hasn’t been easy,” Matlou told the media while on camp with Banyana in Johannesburg this week. “But we knew that if we qualified for the World Cup most of the players would go overseas. And I am one of them. I am happy.”

She added: “I wasn’t easy at first when I got there because of the language barrier and other stuff. But because I have teammates who are helping me, I’ve gelled well in the team. The fact that I’ve played 10 games in a row shows that there’s progress.”

Playing for Eibar in Spain doesn’t come with the splendour of playing for powerhouses like leaders FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. But, nonetheless, Matlou is content with where she is and competing against the best week in and week out.

“It’s exciting to see the players of the big teams, competing against them," she said. "It gives you motivation when you are going to the field because you know that you are competing against the best and I have to push myself to be the best.”

Matlou’s journey with Eibar is on hold due to the Fifa break, though. She’s back on home soil on national team duty. Banyana are in camp, preparing for two international friendlies against Zambia and Botswana this afternoon and on Tuesday respectively.

These friendlies will signal the start of their preparations for their

Cosafa Championship title defence and Awcon qualifiers later this year after missing out on the Tokyo Olympics in July. Matlou, though, is keen to see what the future generation of Banyana has to offer.

“We have to win because the last time I was with Banyana was in 2019. But I am also excited because I am getting the opportunity to see the new players and how they’ll do. It’s an opportunity for everyone,” Matlou, who turns 36 in September, said.

Noko Matlou