Leaving Gunners Was Not Easy - Motlhabankwe

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Monday August 6, 2007 00:00

 

Motlhabankwe was the only Gunners' player in the senior national team, the Zebras. He did not only make his name at Gunners but even in the national team as well.  Last weekend, after the Confederation of Southern Football Associations (COSAFA) Castle Cup game between Nambia and the Zebras, he was named 'man of the match'.

However, in a surprise move, Motlhabankwe dumped Gunners to join the chequebook-waving Mochudi Centre Chiefs.  He made his debut for Chiefs during the Kabelano Cup.
Motlhabankwe said he decided to quit Gunners to look for greener pastures.  He said Centre Chiefs and Township Rollers both came up with some attractive offers but he preferred Chiefs because they play almost the same style of football as Gunners. Motlhabankwe said he also wanted to leave Gunners for his personal development as a player. 

He feels there were no longer any challenges for him at Gunners.  He said there was no competition for him and even if he was not playing well he could not be easily substituted. Like any other player, he said, he would like to win more silverware and he realised that it was almost impossible to achieve the feat with the Lobatse side. 

The only medal he got while at Gunners was for the Kabelano Cup. But despite leaving, Motlhaba-nkwe said, he is still grateful to the Gunners for grooming him. He said it was Gunners which discovered him when other teams did not have confidence in him.  'I still love Gunners, I made my name there,' he said.

 
He added that there were certain teams that felt that he would never become a good player.Before he joined Gunners, Motlhabankwe was registered with a Kanye team, Southern Pirates.  But he has never played for Pirates. Motlhabankwe said he was welcomed at his club, where he has settled. 

He did not struggle to find a place in the star-studded Chiefs' line-up. He has also found that Chiefs is more organised.  At Chiefs, he said, one has to earn his place in the team.  It was not like at Gunners where he was assured of automatic selection.
Motlhabankwe said he is also getting along with his new team-mates well.  In fact, he knew some of them long before he joined the side.

He said their focus is now on the Coca-Cola Cup.  Chiefs' next assignment is against BMC in the Coca-Cup quarterfinal on Saturday. After the Coca-Cola fixture, the next challenge for Motlhabankwe and his team-mates, would be the league championship, which eluded Chiefs last season. Motlhabankwe said his ambition is to play professional football. He has already taken the first step in this direction because he was called for trials by South African teams. 

He went for trials at Premier League side Supersport United and Maritzburg United, which campaigns in the South African First Division. But Motlhabankwe suffered a setback at Supersport when former coach Pitso Mosimane joined the South African national squad (Bafana Bafana) technical bench.  He is said to have impressed Mosimane. Motlhabankwe said at Maritzburg, the officials told him that his place had already been filled. 

Contrary to local media reports, the player said he has never attended trials at another South African Premier League side, Moroka  Swallows. But he has not given up hope of striking a deal with a professional side. Meanwhile, Gunners Public Relations Officer (PRO) Kitso Dlamini said it was not easy to part with a player of Motlhabankwe's calibre.

Dlamini said for his own personal development, it would have been much better if a foreign club had snatched Motlhabankwe. He said Motlhabankwe had done so much for Gunners over the years that he spent at the club.  He said his departure is a drawback for the team. Nevertheless, he associates Motlhabankwe with Gunners, saying: 'He is still our boy.' Dlamini said life would have to go on for Gunners with or without Motlhabankwe.   He said during the next season, they are intending to compete and not to participate in the league.