Marumo Gallants have done the unthinkable by reaching the quarterfinals of the CAF Confederation Cup, but the road has not been without its usual potholes. Glory on the African continent comes at a price. A trip to Libya to face Al Akhdar, particularly, presented challenges never experienced before by the team who bought their way into South Africa's topflight not too long ago. Lying between them and a spot in the semi-finals is Egyptian side Pyramids, who are a menace at home but aren't the best of travellers. One of the soldiers on Bahlabane Ba Ntwa's arduous journey this season has been Tshepo Gumede, who has featured in five of the club's 10 matches in the competition up to now. His experience will be key. In this interview with Soccer Laduma's Tshepang Mailwane, the ex-Orlando Pirates player talks about the harrowing experience in Libya, why he'd choose PSL survival over Confed Cup success, and more…
Tshepang Mailwane: If someone had told you at the beginning of the season that Marumo Gallants would be in the CAF Confederation Cup quarterfinals, would you have believed them?
Tshepo Gumede: Nope, ha, ha, ha… I would not have believed them. Not at all, mogotsi waka (my friend).
TM: Why?
TG: Well, initially, if it wasn't for (Mamelodi) Sundowns winning the league and being in the Nedbank Cup final with us, we would not have qualified for this competition. And, previously, we had reached the last round before the group stages and got knocked out. That gave us some confidence, but no one expected this because a lot of us in the team don't have the experience of playing in the Confederation Cup. Also, Marumo Gallants is a young team.
TM: So, how did you manage to get this far?
TG: I think the more we went on and the teams we were drawn against in the group stage, it's teams that don't have a lot of experience recently of the Confed Cup. I felt that we were all on one level, besides the team from Algeria (USM Alger). Our first game was against the team from Libya, Al Ahkdar – we played them at home and beat them 4-1. They were not able to handle the heat that day. It was a very hot day, so they were just waiting for us to attack them, which helped us. Our second game was against (Saint Eloi) Lupopo away from home. We at least did not have to go to (DR) Congo. We played them in Zambia, so they did not have the backing they would normally have if we had played them at their home ground. They did not have their home crowd, so it was basically 50/50. We won that game 2-1. We lost the third game 2-0 in Algeria (against USM Alger). It was a hostile environment. It was hectic.
TM: Hostile in what way?
TG: It was (because of) their fans and the atmosphere that they created. We had a few regular players from our side who were out. We didn't go with a full squad. We had 15 or 16 players who travelled for that game, so it also did not make it easy to pick a team and the result showed. I understand that we are all signed by the club and we represent the team, but then you need to understand that if you have not played in a while, you have to get into the rhythm and be sharp and all those things, because as the game goes on, you feel the effects. We bounced back and beat the same team (2-0) when they came to South Africa. It also helps that these North African teams can't handle a 15h00 kick-off. So, we play at a high tempo in the first half and that affects them in the second half because they are not used to the weather conditions this side. So, we try as much as possible to get them tired in the first half and see how they react to the conditions here, because we don't have a crowd. We play in an empty stadium, and I don't know why. Mara go tla loka (But it will be okay).
TM: Now that you've brought that up, how does it feel to have gone as far as the quarterfinals yet there isn't a lot of noise in the country about Gallants?
TG: I would say the media follows teams that are marketable and teams that relate to the public. But as long as you do well, at some point, they are forced to follow you as well. Recently in the Confed Cup, South African teams have been doing well, so it encourages us to also go far in the competition.
TM: Give us insight into the trip to Libya, where the team lost 4-1 and also had to buy its own kit after your luggage was left in Turkey. What exactly happened?
TG: We were transiting through Turkey and we could not get our baggage out of check-ins. By the time we connected to travel to Libya, our things had been left behind. The thing is flights to Libya were a problem. They had no flights going to Libya from Turkey. We had played in Libya before and travelled via Egypt. This time around, they said there were no flights via that route. We had to go to Turkey, and we were supposed to go to Tunisia and then Libya. We ended up going from Turkey to Libya. How they managed to get space, only God knows. We had 14 players travelling. Three were substitutes, one of them was a goalkeeper and two outfield players.
TM: That's crazy!
TG: We had to go straight from the airport to the stadium. It was just a messed-up logistical thing that we could not control. The game was initially scheduled for 15h00 and it was moved to 19h00.
TM: Where were the motivation levels at that point?
TG: It was about being professional, but you could see that everything had taken its toll on our bodies from all the travelling and not resting. The goals we conceded were stupid goals, so we also didn't make things easy for ourselves.
TM: But could you blame yourselves after all you went through?
TG: Yeah, Tshepang, I understand the logistical side of doing things and whatnot, but when we are on the field, it does not matter to the people who are outside. Let's say, for instance, if you don't know about these things, you are just going to report that we lost 4-1. You are just going to the outlay, but you won't be able to say how it exactly happened. Logistically, it was a bad f**k-up and we didn't have a good night out on the pitch.
TM: And how do you get through a game with only two substitutes because we're not really counting the back-up goalkeeper?
TG: You play and hope for the best. The worst part is that we had two injuries during the game, ha, ha, ha. And what makes it worse is that the two subs were defenders, ha, ha, ha. Yho, that day, mogotsi! It was a nightmare.
TM: On top of everything, you had to play in a new kit…
TG: Yeah, they had to buy kit and they had to get badges and put them on the kit.
TM: When did this kit arrive, considering you landed and went straight to the stadium?
TG: It arrived when we were at the stadium. I think it arrived an hour or so after we got there, because our flight was at 13h00 and we landed (in Libya) at 15h00 or just after that. We went straight to the stadium and, at around 17h00, the kit came.
TM: That is madness!
TG: Yeah, ha, ha, ha.
TM: When did you get your luggage?
TG: Well, it was left in Turkey. We only managed to get it on our way back to South Africa at 'lost and found'. But everything was sorted, and nothing was stolen. We played on a Sunday and we knew that our flight back to South Africa (via Turkey) was going to be on Wednesday or on Friday. It was going to be on Wednesday if we all got enough space and on Friday if we did not all get space on Wednesday. So, these are details that we knew after the game. There were no flights for Monday and Tuesday, so we ended up travelling back on Wednesday.
TM: What would you say that experience did for you as a team?
TG: It p***ed us off because you don't want to go through a nightmare like that. It's not supposed to happen like that because you can't show off your work on the field due to things that are happening outside the field. But then as a team, it made us a little bit stronger, and it made us bond a bit more because we spent so much time together. Remember, most of the time we go to training and then back home, so we got to learn a little more about one another – that was the upside.
TM: You're up against Egyptian side Pyramids in the quarterfinals this Sunday.
TG: Firstly, we wanted to finish top of the group so that we can play the second leg at home. We managed that and we are happy. Pyramids is a team that's relatively new with their investment and backing. I've spoken to Fagrie (Lakay) before and personally I know a little bit about how they play. I wouldn't say who is stronger of the teams because I feel it's fair footing.
TM: What did Lakay tell you?
TG: He told me about their playing style, but this was back then when we did not know that we were going to play against each other. We were just chatting. So, he was talking about how they play and what the environment in Egypt is like and basically how he is holding up that side.
TM: Now that info might help you as a team…
TG: Well, I hope so, ha, ha, ha. It's a small world because now we are going to play against them.
TM: How do you think the experience of playing in the group stage has helped you to prepare for this one?
TG: I think playing games home and away helps you a lot in having an idea of what it's like away from home. You get to know how you need to prepare yourself and how the team needs to prepare. So, I'd say playing in the group stage has helped us. We still use the away goals rule in Africa, so getting an away goal would be ideal. A score draw or a victory would be ideal for us. We will see how it goes. We've come this far, which means we can beat anyone. We also back ourselves. Being in the quarterfinals means we are a few games away from the final, so it makes sense to believe that we have as much of a chance as everyone else in the quarterfinals.
TM: Would winning the Confederation Cup be the biggest achievement in your career?
TG: It would be the biggest trophy in my career, but my biggest achievement was receiving national team call-ups.
TM: Tshepo, good luck this weekend. Go and represent Mzansi well.
TG: Thank you so much. If I had to pick between surviving relegation and winning the cup, I would pick surviving.
TSHEPO GUMEDE FACT FILE
Date of birth: 21 April 1991
Place of birth: Dobsonville, Gauteng
Position: Defender
Jersey number: 29
Club: Marumo Gallants
Previous clubs: SuperSport United juniors, Platinum Stars, Orlando Pirates, Cape Town City, AmaZulu FC, Cape Umoya United
Honours: 2013 Telkom Knockout winner (with Platinum Stars), 2016 Telkom Knockout winner (with Cape Town City), 9 Bafana Bafana caps
