Mntambo - My faith was tested

Orlando Pirates midfielder Linda Mntambo described the 2019/20 season as his make or break campaign, after his first one last term did not see him getting too many opportunities in the starting line-up. Things have not changed much for the 30-year-old midfielder, who has made just nine appearances in all competitions this season and is currently in the second year of his three-year deal with the Soweto giants. With so much competition in the middle of the park, Mntambo will need to work hard to get into Josef Zinnbauer’s team.

In this interview, the former Jomo Cosmos and Chippa United attacking midfielder opens up about how his faith was tested at the beginning of the season when he was not playing and was also left out of the CAF Champions League squad. Mntambo also reveals the stress he has that he is yet to win a trophy with the Buccaneers. 

Tshepang Mailwane: What has life away from football been like for you?

Linda Mntambo: To be honest, lockdown has not had a negative impact on me because I’ve been with my family and that helped. I was telling one of my friends that for other players it becomes difficult to stay focused and be mentally strong because they are away from their families and they don’t know when this thing will end. I always put family first and I’ve had the privilege of being with them during this lockdown. Before lockdown, my mom’s house burnt and she moved to my place. I’ve been with her ever since, so you can imagine that there’s a whole lot of us at home. I’ve got the whole family with me and I am enjoying it, but I can’t wait to go back. There are those days where one feels this is too much, but with their support, I am getting through it quite well.

TM: How are you feeling after it was announced by Minister Nathi Mthethwa that training can resume?

LM: Yes, I am excited. I can’t wait to be back on the training and possibly resuming the league in the coming… or rather when the lockdown measures are eased. I missed my teammates a lot and the entire staff at Orlando Pirates. With that being said, we will need to take care of ourselves and continue to exercise social distancing, washing our hands regularly with warm water and soap and using hand sanitizer. I am happy.

TM: Do you have any fears, though, regarding the return of football, with the COVID-19 cases continuously rising?

LM: Yeah, a bit. But I trust the authorities would not allow us to get back if it wasn’t safe. After all, it’s not only them who need to make sure we are safe, but ourselves too. We need to take responsibility and adhere to the safety measures put in place for us.

TM: How does it feel that, as her son, you are able to support your mother during this time?

LM: She means everything to me. She sacrificed a lot for me to be where I am today, so I am really grateful to her. Ever since I could be able to earn a salary, or be able to provide, the first thing I have always done is to go back home to make sure she is always happy, you know. I was staying with her before I even moved to Chippa United. I used to stay with her in the back-room ekhaya (at home) and I made sure that before I left, she was happy at home. I have done a whole lot of changes. I am the only son she has left. She had four kids and the three have since passed away. So, even when her house burnt down, there was no other option. The only person she could rely on was me and I knew that I had to take a stand and be that person who supported her emotionally and got back the things she had at the house. I’ve got support from family, from relatives and, most importantly, from my teammates and the technical team at (Orlando) Pirates. There are donations they made to help rebuild her house. Slowly but surely, we are getting there. She will be back in her house, but I am not in a rush for her to go back. I still want her to be here, ha, ha, ha.

TM: What does it say about your Pirates teammates and the technical staff that they have come through for you and your mother during a time like this?

LM: I am really blessed beyond measure to be at Orlando Pirates and to have such a family, where I don’t hide when I am in need. I can go to my teammates and talk to them. Even before I told them, it was all over social media that mom’s house had burnt down, and they were the ones who called me and asked how they could offer their support. Some offered to come paint, so at Pirates we are a family and we support one another. Football is about competition, but we leave our competition on the field. There’s a whole lot of guys (who offered help), but I would not like to single them out. I just want to say I am grateful to be at such a place where I feel that I have a second family, hence I miss them so much during this lockdown, but we can still keep in touch.

TM: How much does she appreciate the fact that your teammates have offered to help rebuild her house?

LM: There’s one thing that I’d like to share with you. My mom has been an Orlando Pirates fan ever since she was born. My grandfather (Joseph Mntambo) was one of the founders of Orlando Pirates, so Orlando Pirates means a lot to my family, especially my mother because she knows where it started from back in the days when she was young. She sometimes tells me stories of how Mr Kaizer Motaung used to train and how Dr Jomo Sono used to train hard. She tells me those stories, so Pirates means everything to her. She can even fast for games because she wants us to win. She is that person. She sent a voice note and a video for the team and I posted it in our team WhatsApp group. She was thanking everybody who has helped and supported her. That’s how she is.

TM: So, when you got to join Pirates before the start of last season, how did your family feel?

LM: I was super excited and my family didn’t believe it. When I told them the news, they were so excited. You know how it is on the 31st of December, when everyone is excited? It was like that. It was something huge for me because it had been my child-hood dream to play for this big team. I am a boy from Orlando and I have been a die-hard (Pirates supporter). To see myself playing for this team I supported so much, it meant a lot to me.

TM: What did you take out from your first season last term, where you played 15 games in all competitions?

LM: One, I was excited to be playing for Pirates. Secondly, I had to learn a lot of things. Coming into a new environment, new coaches, new game model and all of that… I don’t think I played to my full ability, to a certain standard I can say I was happy with. Yes, there were hiccups here and there with family responsibility and again with injury, but every time I get an opportunity, I make sure that I am ready. I don’t want to disappoint myself and all those people who support me. There’s one thing for me with all the pressure at Pirates, it’s that if I play badly, I cannot hide. I stay ko kasi and everybody sees me. So, when I walk out, everyone will ask why I didn’t perform well. That’s the pressure that I have. I don’t have the privilege of staying in the suburbs where I can run away from all of that. Being at Pirates, there’s pressure. 

TM: Sure.

LM: It’s not like being at other clubs. At other teams, when you go and play an away game, you get an instruction that here maybe we need to come away with a point. But at Pirates, no ways. The supporters are hard to please. You can’t play two games at your best and then in the third game, you are below average and expect them to say it’s okay. No ways! That’s the pressure we live with at Pirates. Even at training, it’s too much competition between the players. There’s too much talent. I think that’s what I learnt the most in my first season, that there’s no time to celebrate. You can play a good game today, score goals and be Man of the Match, but it ends there after the game. You have to focus on the next game and make sure you give the same performance as the previous (one). I also learnt to take care of my emotions. I was not satisfied with the football part, but I think I learnt a lot of things in my first season that I can take into my life off the field.

TM: How did you handle the fact that you were not playing regularly, considering you were playing week in and out at previous clubs?

LM: Yeah, I had never sat on the bench before. I remember in my first season, I said to (Abbubaker) Mobara, “My friend, I am not used to this thing. Where I come from, I have never sat on the bench or in the stands. I have always been a starting player.” Mobara said, “Here there is too much talent. You’ve got to wait for your opportunity and make sure that you are ready, because there’s no second chances at Pirates.” Sometimes your only chance is your last chance, but with me, I have a supportive family. My wife, my mother, cousins, sisters support me very much. They understand football and they are not people who would say, “Why don’t you leave, because you are not playing?” I am surrounded by people who keep me focused. That’s why during this time of the lockdown I am able to focus and train, because of their support. If I was alone, I don’t think I’d be able to do that. They are there to keep me focused and they prepare good food for me, so that I can be ready for the next session.

TM: After the first season of not playing regularly, what had you hoped for coming into this campaign?

LM: I had an interview before the start of the season, before we launched our jersey. I remember I said this is going to be my make or break season. I know I have three years at Pirates, but I felt that this was going to be my make or break season, so I needed to apply myself and make sure I stamped my authority and show the coaches that I might not have played regularly last season, but I wanted to play. But the season did not start in my favour where I was in the stands. I did not play in the first few league matches, I didn’t play in the MTN8 and I was not registered for CAF (Champions League). My faith was tested a lot. I felt that after all that I put in during pre-season and the focus I had… there were times where I felt that maybe this is not for me, you know? I felt that as much as I love the team, I’ve got to make peace with it. I thought maybe I should look for another team where I can get game-time. My faith was tested a lot. I am a person who prays a lot and I believe, all in good time, God will give you what you deserve. At a time when I had lost hope, that’s where I got an opportunity to play in the Telkom Knockout against Stellenbosch FC. I played the whole 90 minutes and I felt I had a good game. The response from the technical team and my teammates was that way, that I applied myself well and the stats were looking good. Then I managed to start the following game. But because of not playing regularly, I got a slight strain, but I got back. Then things had to change with the new coach and we had to start afresh. When a new coach joins the team, we are starting from scratch. No one has an upper hand over someone else. I started in some games and we adapted to the coach’s game model. The rest, I think, is up to the coaches. I believe I do my best and then it’s up to the coaches whether I am up for selection to play or on the bench. But, at the same time, after all these incidents I have been through before, it’s nothing I can’t handle. Even now, I am ready so that I can fight for my chance to play again.

Mntambo on his Champions League squad exclusion: "My brother… my faith was tested. I felt that I have no belonging. I did not know if I was in the right place or not, because I’ve heard people saying CAF Champions League is played on experience and I felt that in the previous campaign, I played a number of games (in the CAF Champions League) and I was in the 18-man squad. I felt like I had gained that experience, but to come back and now I am not in the team and there’s no explanation... I am not one of those who go to the coach and ask why I am not in the team. I kept my cool and I kept working hard. I kept being who I am, which is to work hard at training and have fun with my teammates. I would not sulk and show that it was taking a toll on me, but it did on my family. I was not okay. I would snap over anything at home, because it hit me. I was not expecting it, but I got through it.

TM: You, however, played seven games in the league from October to January.

LM: It was something that I was enjoying, knowing after each game (that) I had the confidence that I was going to start the following game. You know, when you do well and you feel you’ve got 80 or 90% chance of starting the next game… so it was really nice for me. The hard work I was putting in was paying off and the resilience helped me a lot. I was enjoying myself, I don’t want to lie to you. I wished it would not end. You know when something is nice, you don’t want it to end. I did not want it to end because I was just enjoying myself.

TM: What happened afterwards where you were no longer in the team?

LM: I think it’s a competition thing. The coaches always say different games will need different personnel. And sometimes when the team is winning, it’s hard for a coach to change a winning team. Like they say, if it’s not broken, why change? That’s what’s been happening. The guys have been playing well. The midfield of Ben Motshwari (and) Fortune Makaringe has been doing well and Sphe (Siphesihle) Ndlovu has been knocking on the door, so it’s been healthy competition. As much as they have not been playing consistently – it’s been chop and change – but I think Ben and Makaringe have applied themselves very well. They have taken the opportunity given to them by the coaches. For us as other midfielders, we need to keep working and make sure we give the coaches stress. Coaches should not go home and know which players they are going to use. We all need to show them we do want to play.

TM: Talking of Motshwari, what was the reaction of the players when it was announced that he’d contracted Covid-19 and how’s he feeling?

LM: At Pirates, we are a family and we are always in contact, almost like every day. With the lockdown, before our Zoom sessions we get our time where we chat and catch up, and after each session, we do the same. I have been calling him privately daily to check on how he is doing. And when I phone another one of my teammates, that person will ask me, “Have you spoken to Ben and how is he?” I am one person who is close to Ben even off the field. We spent time together and we spoke a lot. Even my mom was praying for him. We were with him over the phone and my mom told him to be strong. My mom was impressed by that fact that he is strong. I don’t think he needed us to tell him to be strong because his answer was, “Guys, I am going to be fine. I am strong.” When you speak to him, he will give you positive energy. We can’t wait for this lockdown to end so that we can be together again as a team.

TM: Do you feel any sort of pressure that your three years are coming to an end next season and you don’t have a lot of time left to impress?

LM: Football is contractual. There’s nothing permanent. In football, you need to push yourself all the time. There’s no way you can play now and say, “My contract is secured.” No ways. Your contract might be secured, but you might be loaned out to another team. I know that this is the number of years I signed with the team, but I have more stress knowing that I have not won anything with Pirates. Pirates is known for winning trophies, it’s a big team on the continent, so I’d love that when my time comes to an end, I look back and say that I won trophies and my name can be written in the history books of Pirates. What stresses me a lot is that I have not won anything with Pirates. I am in my second season and the season is almost over. There’s only one title to play for, which is the league. So, if this season goes by, then it means it’s two seasons without anything. I haven’t cemented my place in the team as well. In the teams I have played for before, I have always played week in and out.

TM: You surely don’t want to be remembered as a generation that did not win anything…

LM: You know, Bra J (Jomo Sono) once told me that people love winners. People might not know, but once you start being a champion, you’ll have followers, whether you like it or not. People only remember winners. If you got back to 1964 and look at who was playing in the league, people will only remember the champions, not the runners-up. Hence now when you speak of Orlando Pirates, the person you’d think about the most is (former) captain Lucky Lekgwathi because of what he achieved at Pirates. I know we are Pirates players and we represent the brand, but who is going to remember us if we don’t win? There’s nothing we can be remembered by. Nobody is going to remember us. What people will remember is that Sundowns won the league in that season. That’s one thing we have to fight for, to make sure that we win. We are playing for a big team. We have everything at Pirates, from supplements to sponsors. I’d be lying if I can say there is anything I can complain about. So, what I am giving back in return?

Mntambo on Bucs' league title chances: "I think our chances are slim. The loss to Kaizer Chiefs dented our hopes and a draw away to Golden Arrows… that’s five points that we lost. If you can take those five points and add them to the points we have now, we would be sitting in a better position and our chances would be good. But it’s not all lost. We still have a chance with the seven games remaining. You never know what can happen in football. Look at what happened last season. We were so close to winning the league, but that draw against Cape Town City killed us and Sundowns went on to win the league. We have to win our games and we will see what happens. Even if we don’t win the league, we need to qualify to play in CAF. So, there’s no room for error.

Mntambo on working with Josef Zinnbauer: "He came in and we went on to win a lot of games. The mood is second to none. I can’t explain it. It’s just nice, we support each other and we are playing for the badge. He came there and told us straight that we are professional players and he won’t be running after us. He explained how they operate in Europe, that your body is your income. If you don’t take care of your body, then you are not taking care of your money. That’s how we as footballers have to think. He has been a father-figure to us. He speaks to us individually. We’ve really done well to turn our season around. Not that we were playing badly, but results were not coming (in the first half of the season). 

TM: At age 31, what do you still want to achieve?

LM: I want to win the league. I started playing professionally at a late age and I have not had much joy in terms of winning silverware. If I were to say I have won anything, then it would be the time we helped promote Jomo Cosmos to the PSL (Absa Premiership), but then again, I was part of the team when it got relegated. So, I’d love to win a trophy. But besides football, I love giving back. That’s my passion and it gives me joy. I’ve started something with a local brand called Stafsetu. We are selling hoodies and the profits go to charity.

TM: Nice one. Good luck for the future and thanks for your time. 

LM: Thanks, outhie yam (my guy).