Cape Town City FC director of football Andries Ulderink has revealed an act by Emile Witbooi after the Under-17 FIFA World Cup that shows he’s destined for great things.
Witbooi was one of South Africa’s standout players at the recently held World Cup.
The 17-year-old scored two goals, helping them reach the round of 16 for the first time in history.
He was on target in the 1-1 draw against Qatar and also scored the opening goal against Bolivia, a match Amajimbos won 3-1. The CT City starlet returned to his club immediately after the tournament and was offered time off to recover from the long journey.
However, Ulderink has revealed that the teenage sensation was not interested in taking time off.
WHAT’S CAPE TOWN CITY’S STANCE ON EMILE WITBOOI
“I’m very happy that he’s doing really well. In the beginning, he struggled with the physical part of the game, but he’s handling that better and better,” Ulderink told FARPost.
“We’re talking now about setting up an individual program, also outside of football, for Emile. It’s good to see that he’s developing. I’m very happy that he stays down to earth. He’s training hard.”
The former Bayer Leverkusen assistant coach revealed that upon returning from the World Cup in Qatar, the teenager shockingly returned to training straight away.
“He came back straight away. He wanted to be back in training or didn’t want to have an extra day off. I like his mentality because the step to Europe or to bigger clubs isn’t easy. We’ve seen too many South African players who made that step. And after that, we didn’t see them anymore. I’m very happy that he’s down-to-earth. He’s realistic; he’s not hurrying his career…. And I’m very happy with how the staff from the first team handles that as well.”
Ulderink expressed satisfaction that the youngster is finishing his exams, noting that this academic focus is an important priority shared by both the club and Witbooi himself. He acknowledged the interest from Europe, but stressed, “as long as it’s not concrete, we remain calm towards Emile.”
Ulderink also believes the youngster is currently in “a good social environment” and suggests that realistically, “Europe could be the next step for Emile when he turns 18.”
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