It's been nine years since Thabo Matlaba won the Nedbank Cup final with Orlando Pirates, back in 2014. Such a long time, and that explains his itch to get his hands on a trophy sooner rather than later. At 35, time is against him, not to mention the fact that his club, Royal AM, are currently unable to sign players due to a FIFA ban for the Samir Nurkovic saga. However, the man nicknamed "Festival" believes the squad assembled is still good enough. In this interview with Soccer Laduma's Zola Doda, Matlaba talks about his success at the Soweto giants, his regrets and gives reasons why he doesn't see himself playing in the Botswana Premier League in the twilight of his career.
Zola Doda: Festival, you are now into your third season with Royal AM. How did the preparations go?
Thabo Matlaba: The preparations went very well. I remember when I joined the team last year January, under coach John Maduka…. and ironically, I started this season with him as a coach as well, and we had a very intense pre-season. You need a good pre-season to prepare well mentally and physically, and when you play friendly matches, it tells you how fit you are. When I joined Orlando Pirates back in 2012, I also joined them in January and I had a lot of catching up to do with the rest of the team. It's very important when you join a new team to show the coach that you want to play because it's not easy to get into the starting line-up. Whenever you get a chance, you need to grab it with both hands and make sure you follow the coach's instructions and be quick in terms of adapting to the club culture.
ZD: What do you want to achieve with the club?
TM: I still want to win cups, nothing has changed. We had a good team from the time I joined the team from Swallows FC (now Moroka Swallows). At the time, we had Ndumiso Mabena and Victor Letsoalo and I wanted to win a cup, but unfortunately we haven't been able to so far. Last season, we were knocked out of the Nedbank Cup by Kaizer Chiefs and it was very disappointing because we could have won that game and progressed to the next round, but we lost because of our mistakes. But it's part of football, we learn every day and move on.
ZD: Last season, you were joined by your former Bucs teammate, Happy Jele…
TM: I was happy to see him and it was a good moment because he is a leader who knows how to win cups. When Happy joined, he was always motivating other players and it was a dream come true for some of my teammates to share the dressing room with him. He helped us a lot while he was here, but unfortunately he didn't come back. But while he was here, we spoke a lot about our time together at Pirates and we wanted to get another trophy together at Royal AM, but unfortunately it didn't happen. We tried by all means, but we could not. It's part of football, we learn and we move on. This season, it's definitely going to be better.
ZD: In 2022/23, you finished in 11th place, outside the Top Eight. Surely you want to do much better this time around.
TM: Pre-season determines everything and how you perform in the league. We are not in the Top Eight (MTN8), so we will at least aim for one cup. With the squad that we have and the coach that we have, we will definitely achieve what we want to achieve. There are boys who have been promoted to the first team and they are doing well. As senior players, we are there to motivate them to work hard. As one of the senior players, I have to make sure that they are performing, they are following instructions; I must make sure that they train well. I have to be a role model to them and come early to training so that they can see. As a role model, I can't be ill-disciplined. They used to watch me play for Orlando Pirates, so it's very important for me to remain disciplined because they can see everything that I'm doing. I tell them all the time (that the) DStv Premiership is not like the DStv Diski Challenge, this is a different stage. In the DStv Premiership, 20 minutes feels like 90 minutes. They have to focus before the game starts and make sure they are doing extra work. I'm doing extra work at my age, why can't they do the same? I always motivate them and tell them about the advantages of playing at this level. But they are coming alright.
ZD: As a player, you've won the league, the Nedbank Cup and featured 29 times for Bafana Bafana. What is there left to achieve for Thabo Matlaba?
TM: My last trophy was the Nedbank Cup 2014 and it's been nine years now. That's a very long time. Before I retire, I definitely want to win at least one more trophy and it's possible with the squad that we have at Royal AM. I can't just join a team and want to be in the Top Eight without competing to win a trophy. It's high time that we compete for trophies because we have a strong team, even though we didn't sign players. Everyone wants to play and the boys who have been promoted are putting pressure on players who were here last season. They are doing very well and they want to play. I won't be happy if I don't win a trophy and this season I will do my best, and that is possible. We need one trophy. We can't just talk about Top Eight all the time, we want trophies. We made mistakes last season and hopefully we have learned a lot.
ZD: What do you remember about the 2014 Nedbank Cup?
TM: It was a great time in my career. We had Oupa Manyisa, the late Senzo Meyiwa, Siyabonga Sangweni, Sifiso Myeni, Lucky Lekgwathi. We had a good quality team. Thandani Ntshumayelo was also there. I still have fond memories of all those players. We won the Nedbank Cup final 3-1. We had leaders in that team and we were united and this is why we achieved the things we did. There were lots of leaders in that team. I scored goals, Sangweni scored, Lucky scored, even though we were all defenders. We were all united and fought for each other. That team was going to win a lot of trophies, but when Senzo passed, things changed – we started shaking. Senzo's passing disturbed us a lot. If Senzo was still alive, we would be talking a different story. Personally, it's been nine years now, but this season I need at least one.
ZD: But you are facing tough competition with the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns and Pirates.
TM: Those are big teams and they all want results. Whether you like it or not, when you play for a big team, there is always pressure. They have done extremely well and we are also doing well. We are ready to challenge them. It's easy to get motivated when playing against those teams because we have youngsters who want to play for Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns – they are always motivated. They don't need motivation.
ZD: Is the 2014 Nedbank Cup the highlight of your career?
TM: My highlight was the 2013 CAF Champions League final. We didn't win it, but we opened doors for other teams who wanted to play in Africa and do well. At the time, we played against tough teams and it was not easy. But now there are only three to four teams who are strong, it's not the same as 2013. We opened the doors for other teams to desire to win the cup. The following season, we reached the CAF Confederation Cup final. Those are good memories. We were conquering Africa at the time.
ZD: Do you have any regrets in your career?
TM: Yes, losing both the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup finals. We were supposed to win. In 2013, we drew 1-1 at Orlando Stadium and went away in Egypt, where we had a couple of chances that we were supposed to finish but we could not. Al Ahly beat us with experience because they had been winning this cup for a very long time. Not winning that trophy is my biggest regret as a player because I could be saying, 'I also have a Champions League winner's medal.' The same thing happened in the Confederation Cup, it was a disappointing moment.
ZD: How long do you still want to play football at the highest level?
TM: I can safely say, at least three more seasons because I maintain myself. During off-season, I eat everything, but when the pre-season starts, I start dieting. I look after myself and that helps me a lot to stay fit. I can play until 38, 39. Ellias Pelembe is still playing and running, so I can also get to that age. Pelembe is still pushing and disciplined and if I don't get injuries, I will make it.
ZD: Do you see yourself also moving to the Botswana Premier League to end your career there, like some of your former teammates?
TM: I don't see myself, after reaching 40, then going to play in other countries like Botswana or Eswatini. I see a lot of players going there, but for me, I don't understand why at the age of 40 you still want to play outside South Africa. Why don't you play in the Motsepe Foundation Championship or ABC Motsepe League? Why not play there instead? You want to go and play in Botswana? You made your name, so why do I have to play all over? No, no, no, no, no. Maybe it's not about football, maybe it's something to do with money. I don't know, but I don't think after reaching 40 I can go and play in Botswana or Eswatini. I don't see myself doing that, to be honest.
ZD: Thabo, thanks a lot for your time and best of luck.
TM: Pleasure, my brother.
THABO MATLABA FACT FILE
Date of birth: 13 December 1987
Place of birth: Tembisa, Gauteng
Nickname: Festival
Jersey number: 14
Position: Defender
Club: Royal AM
Previous clubs: Leicester City (amateur), M Tigers, Free State Stars, Orlando Pirates, Swallows FC
Honours: 29 Bafana Bafana caps, 2011/12 PSL Champion, 2013/14 Nedbank Cup winner (both with Pirates)
