Mkwanazi enjoys new lease of life at Bantu

MASERU – Experienced defender Motlomelo Mkwanazi is enjoying his new role as Bantu skipper after he was handed the captain’s armband at the start of the 2022/23 season.

Since Thapelo Mokhehle hanged his boots, Bantu have had several players sharing the leadership responsibilities such as the Marabe brothers in Litšepe and Mokone as well as Lindokuhle Phungulwa.

However, Mkwanazi seems to have won the trust of the new Bantu head coach, Abram Moeketsi, who handed the responsibility of leading the team to the 28-year-old Leribe-born defender.

A Matšo Matebele, as Bantu are affectionately known, are at the summit of the Vodacom Premier League with 40 points from 17 games but have LDF breathing down their neck in second position with 37 points.

“It’s a big challenge I must say, but once I was given the captain’s armband, I realised that the coach believes in my abilities to lead this group of players,” Mkwanazi said.

“That means I had to lead by example on and off the pitch. It gave me pressure to work harder than I did before, be always disciplined and help the club achieve its objective in each game we play.

“Those are the weapons that will help us reach the goals that we have put for us as a team to be successful,” he said.

After years of struggling to break into the Likuena starting line-up, the defender has established himself as a regular in the Veselin Jelusic’s team and earned a lot of praises after marking Crystal Palace star Wilfred Zaha out of the game when Likuena played to a goalless draw against Ivory Coast late last year.

“To now be a regular for the national team is a big achievement for me. I have been working very hard over the years to play regularly and I’m happy that it has worked out,” he said.

“Well, in that match against Ivory Coast, I had to work very hard marking a very dangerous winger, but I also had to come to the party in the attacking phase of our game playing as a right back.

“I think there is a big room for improvement in my game and I think while people were happy with my performance, it wasn’t the best for me as I feel I could have done better than that,” he said.

The Bantu skipper stated that his dream is to help Likuena compete for honours in the region and qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations.

“There is a huge room for improvement as an individual and collectively. We need to work hard to help Likuena win matches to qualify for major competitions,” Mkwanazi added.

The hard tackling defender admitted that playing international football and coming against the best forwards in the continent such as Zaha and Nigeria duo of Kelechi Iheanacho and Osimhen has improved his game a lot.

“It was in that game against Nigeria, where I also got to captain my country in an international match for the first time, I learnt that experience and speed count a lot in international football.

“I think we have stepped up and surprised these teams who are the powerhouses of our continent especially the home game at Setsoto Stadium against Nigeria, where we scored first. They were not expecting it and I think we have grown in leaps and bounds,” he said.

Mikia Kalati