Ntšonyana tips Makateng for success

MASERU – Likuena star Katleho Makateng has been tipped to be a success in South Africa by one of Lesotho’s most revered and educated football coaches, Teele Ntšonyana. Ntšonyana knew Makateng long before the 23-year-old striker took the Vodacom Premier League (VPL) by storm last season.

In fact, Ntšonyana tried to lure the 2022 league top scorer to Linare while he was still coaching ‘Tse Tala’ way back in 2017. Ntšonyana was so determined to get Makateng to Linare that he went to his parents’ house to talk to him. He says when he got to Makateng’s home it was dark and he found the striker reading with a candle.

Ntšonyana said that immediately showed the kind of person Makateng is and has no doubt he will do well in South Africa’s DSTV Premiership for his new club, Richards Bay.

Ntšonyana is a former Lesotho international himself who played in South Africa’s top-flight for Wits University in 2000 and 2001. He said he believes Makateng will also make it at a bigger club across the border because he has got what it takes to succeed.

Makateng left the country on Monday for KwaZulu-Natal to join Richards Bay on a two-year deal with an option to renew for a further year after signing from Lesotho Defence Force (LDF). He was accompanied to the airport by his LDF teammates who wished him well on his travels.

“He is a good player and very disciplined,” Ntšonyana said of Makateng. “It’s like in life, you do what is required of you. Be observant, what does the coach want from you? Work individually to improve. If what is required of you is to score goals, then if you score goals you will play.”

“I have known him before he became a star actually, I wanted to sign him for Linare. I remember going to his parents’ home and when I got there it was dark, he was there reading with a candle and I think that tells you who he is. He is going to be successful,” Ntšonyana said.

Makateng is not the first player to leave Lesotho in search of better opportunities in South Africa but many of them have found it difficult to get game-time in the professional ranks and have been forced to move from one club to another. Two weeks ago, reports in South Africa said Tumelo Khutlang would be released by fellow DSTV Premiership side Swallows.

Meanwhile, Motebang Sera, another highly-rated Likuena international, has been training with his top-flight club Royal AM but so far there is no confirmation as to whether he will sign a new contract or not.

Ntšonyana said football in South Africa is competitive and driven by money. He said clubs spend a lot of money and if they are paying the salary of someone who is not in the coach’s plans, the club may look to terminate his contract.

“Most of our players do not have what it takes to play there because they have not been fully developed,” Ntšonyana said.

“That’s why we are advocating for the development of players as the coaching association. There’s no reason to not have our players all over South Africa,” he insisted.

Tlalane Phahla