Bafana Bafana forward Lebo Mothiba has singled out a fellow South African international as one of the best of the current crop. Having played for Lille and Strasbourg SC in France, Mothiba lamented the lack of South African players breaking into top European leagues.
The 28-year-old started his football career at Mamelodi Sundowns as a teenager and was then signed by Diambars Football Academy.
His professional debut came in 2017 with Valenciennes in Ligue 2, where he was on loan from Lille. He returned to Lille the following year and contributed six goals in 17 appearances.
In August 2018, he transferred to Strasbourg, a fellow Ligue 1 club, where he won the Coupe de la Ligue in his debut season.
The Bafana striker wants to conclude his professional career in South Africa, revealing he harbours a fondness for Sundowns. He cited his numerous friends at the club as a contributing factor to this aspiration.
“Before I retire, I want to come and play back home,” he told FARPost. “In the future, I’d love to come and play for two or three years in South Africa. I’ve spoken to my agent, and everyone agrees. That’s what I’ll do.
“You know my team there in South Africa, where my development took place, that’s Sundowns. I watch almost every game they play because most of my close friends are at Sundowns.”
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He continued: “My other friend left [Orlando] Pirates, and he’s now there at Sundowns. I’m so close to most of them – Grant Kekana, Teboho [Mokoena] and the legend himself – the great Shikabala. Themba Zwane. That one knows football.”
The Johannesburg-born forward described the qualities that make the Bafana talisman a top footballer. The two have played together in Bafana under the current coach, Hugo Broos. Mothiba, however, missed the AFCON finals in Ivory Coast due to injury. He has fully recovered from that injury and says he is close to returning to joining a new club.
“He’s very slow. But he’s two steps ahead of everyone before he receives the ball. Sometimes watching him go through my teammates in training, I’m there angry. I just want to go there, push him, and tackle him,” he added jokingly. “Mshishi is so good. For me, he’s Mzansi’s legend.”
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