Dube: It’s been a frustrating season for me

It’s been a difficult season for Orlando Pirates right back Mthokozisi Dube, who has only managed to play six matches in all competitions this season, after dislocating his shoulder before the start of the campaign. The 27-year-old was one of the Soweto giants’ best performers last season, showing so much progress and had hoped that the current campaign would be a better one for him and the club, after they finished second to Mamelodi Sundowns in the Absa Premiership title race.

However, things have not quite gone according to plan for the Buccaneers, who have had an inconsistent season, though the appointment of German coach Josef Zinnbauer revived their campaign.

Tshepang Mailwane: Hola, Mtho, hope you are well. While footballers in Europe are back on the field, we in South Africa are still waiting for football to return. How are you holding up now that we are on the third month without football?

Mthokozisi Dube: It has been very challenging because no one expected this to happen, being away from football for such a long time. It’s not something we as footballers are used to. I am used to waking up in the morning and going to training, but now I have to train from home, so it’s been a very challenging time for me personally. I can’t go to the field and train on my own. I have to train via the Zoom sessions with the team. It’s been challenging, but we need to be strong.

TM: It’s understandable why it would be so tough, because not even pre-season takes this long…

MD: Yes, it’s not even this long. Pre-season is like four-week long. It’s a month or just over a month. It affects you so much because as a footballer you have to touch the ball. You can’t just only run at home and do strength sessions. It’s important to feel the touch of the ball. It’s very difficult in that aspect. You need to touch the ball every day and when you can’t touch it, then it affects you.

TM: Is there an indication as to when you will be returning to training?

MD: On our side, we have not heard anything. We are still training at home and we are continuing with our programme. I am sure they will tell us when we can return, but for now we are still training at home.

TM: What do you miss the most about football?

MD: The competition that we have in training, the small-sided games, the jokes we crack in the change room and the laughter. It’s just the little things. Seeing your teammates is something you take for granted when everything is normal, but with this lockdown, you realise that your teammates are part of your family. The lesson I take out of this is play every game like it’s your last, because you never know what’s going to happen. I have told myself that when we get to eventually play again, I just have to play like it’s my last game because we never know what’s going to happen.

TM: As a footballer, when you hear that players from other teams are getting salary cuts, how does that make you feel?

MD: It’s sad to hear that because I am sure those players have responsibilities and they have to look after their families. It’s sad to hear that it’s happening in other teams and it teaches us as footballers that we have to save for times like this. It’s important to save money for the future. Fortunately, I am a family man, so I have to (save for a rainy day). I have a daughter and a wife and they can’t suffer, so I have to think of them. I can’t be selfish and not think of them. So, I have to take that responsibility as the head of the house and save.

TM: Is there anything you are working on other than playing football?

MD: Currently I am venturing into other businesses because I can’t only focus on football. Football is a short career, so I am definitely venturing into other businesses and I hope it all goes well, so that I can have a better life after football. I was actually supposed to start, but this lockdown disturbed me. But by next month, it (the business) will start. It’s a private thing for now. I don’t want to jinx things. I want to keep it private for now, but I am definitely up to something. It’s a business and it’s something that’s going to grow. Maybe out of that business I will be able to open another business.  

TM: Is this something you would encourage other footballers to look into?

MD: Definitely. I think footballers should really look into businesses. Personally, I think saving does not help you much, because you put it in the bank and when you use it, it comes out, but nothing goes back in. So, I do encourage footballers to open up businesses and, during times like this, you can have another salary coming in. Saving is good, but you will end up using the money at some point and nothing comes in. It’s import-ant for footballers to have multiple streams of income.

TM: Do you have people who come in at the club to talk to you about saving and investing?

MD: At the club, we always have these financial lessons. For instance, every year there is a group of people who come in and teach us such things, so we are well educated when it comes to that. The ex-footballers also come and talk to us and tell us about the mistakes they have made, and they try to guide us and tell us what to do. We definitely have to learn from the mistakes they made in the past (when it comes to money). It’s not okay that as a footballer you live this high life while you are playing and then next thing when you are not playing, people see you struggling. It’s not okay, so we as footballers should take lessons from past footballers who have made mistakes. We should not make the same mistakes. We should look after ourselves, our families and our futures.

TM: Let’s talks about your season on a personal level, in which you have played only six games. How would you describe it?

MD: It has not been a good season at all. On a personal level, it’s very bad. It’s one of the worst seasons I’ve had since I started playing football. First of all, I got injured and when you get injured at a team like Orlando Pirates, with a lot of quality players, it’s hard to break back into the starting line-up. It’s really been a frustrating season for me so far. The first injury I got was in the Carling Black Label Cup, when we played against Chiefs. I dislocated my collarbone. It took some time and when I came back to training, I injured it again because it was very fragile at the time. So, I had to stay out a bit again.

TM: How do you stay focused and positive during a time like that?

MD: You have to have faith and you have to believe in yourself. It’s very challenging. I don’t think people understand that in the kind of environment we are in, things like these challenges your mentality and it’s very frustrating. You just have to be strong and you need to find something that will keep you going. In my case, I had my family. I look at them and that just keeps me going and fighting. I have faith and I believe in myself. I am a good player and I know that things like this happen. I am not always going to be perfect and nothing is always going to be perfect. We all go through our bad times and obstacles. We just have to fight through them and just have a strong mind.

TM: Being out for so long means you have to work even harder to get back into the team, especially with Abel Mabaso and Thabiso Monyane doing well whenever they play…

MD: It’s very hard because at a team like Pirates, there are quality players. Mabaso has been doing very well for us and the youngster Thabiso has been doing well for us whenever he has been given the opportunity, so it’s very hard. That’s the challenging part about it, that at a team like Pirates, you just don’t hope you’ll be in the starting line-up. You have to fight for your place ad you have to understand that the guys who are ahead of you are doing well, so you just have to be patient and keep working hard.

TM: What do you think of how 19-year-old Monyane has performed at right back in his first season in the Absa Premiership?

MD: It’s unbelievable for a youngster like him to come to a big team like Pirates, with all the pressure, and do so well for us. He has played some good games and he is definitely one for the future. I think the people around him, the analysts, our coaches… he is in good hands. I have high hopes for him for the future.

TM: How special is to have a player like Monyane coming through the Pirates development just like you did?

MD: It’s very special and I feel like there’s a lot of talent that’s still going to come from the development because our MDC team has some good players and our feeder team in the ABC Motsepe League is doing very well. It’s really a good feeling to see good players coming through the Pirates development just like I did.

TM: In the past, there were players such as Joseph Makhanya, the late Gift Leremi and Excellent Walaza coming through Bucs’ development. Would you want to see more of that?

MD: Yes, that would be great. And I feel like it shows that Pirates have quality players in the development side that can go straight up to the first team. That’s the quality we have in the development.

TM: Let’s talk about the season you’ve had up to this point as a team…

MD: We started off good and then we hit a slump. That has been our biggest downfall in the last two seasons. We hit a slump and then we pick up again towards the end of the season. We know we could have done better as a team because last season we were close to winning the league, so we had high hopes for ourselves that we going to go for the league and everything. But, before the lockdown, we were doing well and we were challenging for the league. So, I’d say it has not been a good season for the team, but we are fighting and we are trying to make the best out of the season.

TM: Sure.

MD: I think the lockdown will kill the momentum for everyone, not just us. Now we are seeing the games in the EPL (English Premier League) and Spanish La Liga where the fitness levels of the players are down. Players get tired when it’s like 60 to 70 minutes into the game, and there’s injuries too. So, I think it’s going to be difficult when we get back, but I trust that our technical team will get us back into shape quickly. The only thing I am worried about when we go back is the injuries. There’s a lot of injuries happening. I think the momentum is going to be lost for everyone. No team is training now, so we can’t complain when we go back. Everyone is under lockdown and momentum will be lost.

TM: Speaking of fitness and injuries, do you think it would make sense to have five substitutes like we are currently seeing in Europe?

MD: Yes, it would make sense and I think it’s a good idea because with three substitutes, I don’t think we will manage. Injuries will come thick and fast because the games will be congested, and players will pick up injuries. I also don’t think we will have a lot of time to train in-between the matches, so I think having five substitutes would be a good idea, to protect players from injuries.

TM: Talk to us about the impact coach Josef Zinnbauer has made since he came in just over six months ago.

MD: He’s brought in stability and he just brought back the confidence. He is a passionate coach and it rubs off on us. He just reminded us that we are a big team and that we should play like a big team. That’s what he did when he came in. He used his tactics here and there, which worked for us. His coming in woke us up and we remembered that we are a big team and we started playing like one. We started getting results. So, he just came in and motivated us big time.

TM: Are you surprised that someone who has never coached in South Africa before can come in, in the middle of the season, and do so well almost immediately?

MD: I am not really surprised, because he came into a team like Pirates, which has quality players. This makes his job easier because he has good players on his side and the game model that he came with is similar to the one Orlando Pirates uses. So, I think we had an understanding right away. Maybe for some coaches it would be difficult to come in with a different game model and try to implement it into the team, but with coach Zinnbauer, he came in with a game model which was very similar to ours and he had the players to implement his game. Credit should also go to the players for responding to the coach’s instructions.

TM: How much of a role has assistant coach Fadlu Davids played in making sure Zinnbauer’s job is a bit easier?

MD: We feel Fadlu’s presence because he has been with us for some time now and he knows everyone. When the coach came in, he did not know everyone and Fadlu had to help him here and there. Fadlu has been great because he also motivates us. Fadlu is a top coach and his presence is really felt. He has a big hand and not forgetting the analysts’ team. We have a good team working there.

TM: How did it feel not to have former assistant coach Rhulani Mokwena around?

MD: Well, at first it was sad when he left because Rhulani was more than a coach to us. He was a brother, someone you could talk to, and he was a friend. At first, it was sad when he left. We did not understand what was happening, but it’s football and, in our industry, coaches come and go. It was sad, but as a footballer, you can’t dwell on those things because life goes on. We wished him well when we left and we told him that we will miss him because Pirates was his home and he was a good coach to us and a good father to us. It was sad, but you have to move on. You can’t always cry about one thing.

TM: Is he someone who has the potential to coach Pirates in years to come?

MD: Definitely. Rhulani is one of the best coaches here in South Africa. He will be a great coach and I won’t be surprised to see him coaching a big team one day in South Africa. At the time he was coaching us, I think luck was not on his side. He is human and it made him sad. It was also frustrating for him to not get results because of the type of quality we have in the squad. Luck was just not on his side and we could not get results. And it’s not like we were playing bad football. We played good football under him, but results were not coming. I think he took a decision to step back and start afresh. But I believe he is a good coach and he is going to come back stronger.

TM: After getting knocked out in all three cup competitions this season, is the team under more pressure to win the league?

MD: Yes, it does put us under pressure. It’s been like three seasons now fighting to get a title and we came close, so it does put us under pressure to get silverware. But our mandate now, because we have not had a great season, is to qualify to play in Africa, the CAF Champions League.

TM: Is that a mandate from the club or a goal you set for yourselves as players?

MD: It’s from us as players, because we want to play Champions League football. That’s where you gauge yourself with the best in Africa. That’s our mandate now, to compete for a CAF Champions League spot. If something happens and we get more points, then so be it, but in our minds as players, it’s just to get in the Champions League spots.

TM: So, are you ruling yourselves out of the title race or is it a case of saying, “It’s not in our hands”?

MD: It’s not in our hands. If it was in our hands, then I’d say something else. What’s in our hands is to try and get a Champions League spot.

TM: Would it be considered a failure if you finished the 2019/20 season without a trophy?

MD: Yes. Every season would be described as a failure if you don’t win a trophy. Everyone expects Pirates to win something. So, it’s always a failure, even to us as players. Pirates has a rich history with winning. And with the kind of players we have, we feel like we deserve one or two trophies. As the current generation, we really want to leave a mark like the double treble team. It’s really frustrating for us because of the squad we have. We know that we are capable of winning something for Pirates.

TM: What has gone wrong in the team’s pursuit to win trophies?

MD: I think it’s inconsistency. We were not consistent enough. Sometimes we start slow and finish strong. When we pick up form, maybe by then it’s too late and it’s not in our hands anymore. I think that’s been our biggest problem.

TM: Before we let you go, how is Ben Motshwari doing after testing positive for COVID-19?

MD: When he tested positive, we were shocked as a team. It was hard for us because we could not go and see him. He has recovered well. We just see him in the Zoom sessions, but he looks lively and well recovered. He looks strong and good.

TM: Does it bring any fears to you, though?

MD: It does bring fear and it makes me want to be extra careful. My fear is that I go out there and I come back… I have a three-year-old kid. If she gets infected with COVID-19… maybe I can survive it, but she is still young. So those are my fears. But we just have to be careful. I am sure the club won’t get us back to training without proper instructions. So, I trust that the club will make sure it’s a safe environment for training. My fears are eased a bit because I know Orlando Pirates is a professional club and they will guide us through this time.

TM: Thanks for your time. Hopefully football will be back soon.

MD: It’s a pleasure. Stay safe.