Boy's meteoric rise stalls
Mqondisi Dube | Monday October 28, 2019 12:51
Segolame Boy scaled the football ladder at a blistering pace, which left the football family in unison that his silky skills were the right product for export to the South African or even European markets.
He collected countless individual accolades, at one stage, making the BTC Player of the Month award, his personal property. But his progression has somewhat stalled, and he has been in and out of the national team.
At the height of his career, Boy made the attacking midfield position his, and even dazzled an Egypt side that had Liverpool star, Mohammed Salah.
Boy reckons there is nothing untoward about the topsy-turvy career, as he believes the doors remain open for a move abroad.“I hope so (to go and play outside the country), it is never too late,” he said about his hopes of playing outside the country.
“I am not disappointed at all, as football has its up and down, so it will be fine.” Boy’s deadly left foot might have lost some potency, but at 27, he should be at the peak of his career, and Botswana football will benefit if there is a rapid change in fortunes.
He still commands a regular berth at Township Rollers, but beyond that, he has faded into oblivion, letting several other emerging stars steal the limelight and along with that his thunder.His former coach at both Miscellaneous and Rollers, Mogomotsi ‘Teenage’ Mpote said at times lifestyle changes can affect players.
Like Boy, Mpote believes there is still time for the player to influence an upward trajectory in his career. “He is a boy from the constituency league. You have to understand that he might have missed some stages of development. It is about life skills. Boy is a good player, but he missed some development stages, and he will keep going up and down,” Mpote said.
He said after Boy joined Rollers from Miscellaneous, the next step was to go outside the country. “There is something that is taking him back, but he still has a chance to go abroad,” Mpote said.
Peter Butler, who gave Boy his break at national level, said it was difficult to tell what had stalled the player’s progress.“It is difficult to tell. I always had a great deal of time for him. I watched him in Francistown when he was playing, I drove all the way to watch him. He had a bad game, but still I saw that he was talented,” Butler said.
“He is a lovely guy, who in my opinion has not fulfilled his potential, whether it is a social or coaching issue, I have no idea. Something definitely went wrong along the way,” he added.
Butler who took charge of the Zebras between 2014 and 2017, said there was talent in the country, but proceeding to the next level has always been a challenge.
“There is so much talent, but they seem to hit a speed hump going to the next level. Boy is such a nice guy, it is a shame he never got the opportunity to play outside Botswana. I recommended him many times, but clubs never took him.”