Former Bafana Bafana striker, Philemon 'Chippa' Masinga, proved his worth as a lethal striker for both club and country but, despite his success, Chippa was not as popular among the supporters as one might have expected. Mamelodi Sundowns on-loan striker, Mame Niang, a player with a style comparable to Masinga's, suffered a similar fate this past season at Downs. Masinga shares his views on Niang and reveals why these types of players are often misunderstood.
Soccer Laduma: Hola legend. We spoke to Mame Niang in this week's edition of Soccer Laduma about his lack of game-time at Mamelodi Sundowns, especially in relation to his style of play. Just like you back in the day, he's not exactly a fancy footballer. He is more of a functional player and a good goalscorer. What is your take on Mame?
Philemon Masinga:Look, Niang has always been a very good player since coming to South Africa. He's proven himself in every team he's played for. The good thing about him is that he is always giving his best. As a player, you always want to play to your strength and not other peoples' strengths, or what they expect to see from you. For instance, I was always Phil Masinga and remained true to myself because I could never be Doctor Khumalo or Tebogo Moloi, for instance. I did what I was supposed to do, the best way I could possibly do it.
SL: Right.
PM:Football is all about complementing each other on and off the field. I was always there to complement whatever Doctor or Shoes Moshoeu during our Bafana Bafana days. They were skilful players but I wasn't. Just because I wasn't skilful, didn't make me a bad player. People tend to misinterpret this whole skill thing. Skill is all about doing the basics right. If you dribble, you do so for the right reason at a right time. You have to know how to eliminate opposition with a simple pass. You need to know how to pick a run and all those things. You need to be skilful to master all of that but, having said that, you can't have 11 Cristiano Ronaldos in your team and expect to do well. Different players have different duties and responsibilities in the team. You can't expect Eric Tinkler and Linda Buthelezi to play like Tebogo and Doctor or vice versa, for example. You can't expect Mame Niang to play like Cuthbert Malajila and Katlego Mashego. They are different players, although they're all strikers.
SL: Fair point…
PM:People need to understand that football is about how well you complement each other. It breaks my heart to watch a quality player like Kermit Erasmus not scoring as many goals as he should because he's not being utilised to his strengths. His talent is being wasted and, just like Niang, he might not fulfil his true potential. You find him playing more in the midfield than the opposition box. People need to understand the uniqueness of players and their roles.
SL: How do we ensure that people understand these roles and what to expect from a player?
PM:It is all about football education and respect. I mean, why would a club sign a player if he was not good enough? Why would a coach select a player if he didn't deserve to be selected? Let's respect the coach's decisions whether we like them or not. Back to Niang, he obviously didn't play as much as he would have liked at Sundowns and I hope the team's supporters were not against him.
SL: You were booed a couple of times by a section of Bafana Bafana supporters at one stage of your career, despite your proven goalscoring record. This was mainly because of your style of play.
PM:Funny enough, the same people who booed me always cherished and celebrated my goals. I took every challenge positively because the same hate that came my way made me an even better player. I didn't select myself and the coaches never stopped selecting me, despite my unpopularity with a section of the supporters. If I paid too much attention to the haters, I wouldn't have played against some of the best in the world. Sometimes people just don't like you, regardless of your performances, but if you want to go far in life, you pay little or no attention to that hate and focus on your future goals. Niang, just like me, entertains differently to a skilful midfielder. His job is to score goals and that's his part in the game.
SL: Legend, thanks for your time.
PM:You're welcome,man.
