Abednego Mosiatlhaga has admitted that he does not always keep up with the news in Angola because it's in Portuguese, so it's hardly any surprise that he got to find out about his player of the month nomination in the Girabola Premier League from his teammates in their WhatsApp group.
The former Bidvest Wits attacker, who plays for Bravos do Maquis in Angola, was named player of the month for October on Monday, claiming the award for the first time. Mosiatlhaga joined the Angolan outfit in January, in the second half of last season, and his contract was extended by another campaign until June 2025 after he impressed the club.
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He is now one of the key players in the team and his award is a clear indication of the impact he is making on foreign soil.
"I don't know how to describe it, but it's a proud feeling. For someone who is from outside and to see I am doing well and getting recognition is something that makes me proud of the work that I am putting in," Mosiatlhaga said to the Siya crew.
"To be honest, I would not say it was my goal or objective. All I know is that the month was going well for me because I was contributing in terms of goals and assists. So, when it come up, it was a surprise because I don't really put of these things into consideration because everything is in Portuguese, so it's not like I go into newspapers and websites to look for these things. I just saw one of the guys sending to the WhatsApp group of the team that I was nominated. It was announced today (Monday) that I was the winner, so that's nice."
Bravos do Maquis are fifth in the Girabola, eight points behind leaders Petro de Luanda, and are going to be playing in the CAF Confederation Cup group stages, which start towards the end of this month.
"This season things are going well in terms of game. I am happy with everything that's happening, except where the team is supposed to be in terms of the position on the log, but personally I think I am doing well.
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"We are in the group stages as well. And if I am totally honest, the reason I came back this season was the fact that we qualified for CAF, which is something huge for this club. They have never been as far as where we are right now. The first priority is to help the team go as far as possible and, secondly, CAF is a tournament that has a lot of exposure and there are a lot of good teams that participate there. So, you don't know what tomorrow holds. Mine is to do the best that I can to help the team and we will see what happens after that."
Being far away from home is not always easy for footballers, but technology does make Mosiatlhaga feel that he is close to his family.
"I speak to my family as much as I can. They always want to know how I am doing. Since I am a father of two now, you can imagine the amount of video calls I am making. I am always in contact with them. I speak to my mom and dad as well and they always want to know how things are going."
By Tshepang Mailwane
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