Masilo Modubi is one of the South African players who had a long career in Europe and is currently still there, working as a coach. Soccer Laduma spoke to the former Chelsea youth player about his time abroad.
Clubs played for
I had come from the School of Excellence and I went to sign a contract with Chelsea. From Chelsea, we were loaned out to Westerlo. I spent most of my time at Westerlo, with Boy-Boy Mosia and Jeffrey Ntuka. I spent about 10 years at Westerlo and then I went to play for Dessel Sport for almost three years and then my career stopped because of injuries. The experience at Chelsea was something that any young boy would dream of, where you are able to train with the likes of Gianfranco Zola, Frank Lampard and John Terry, because we immediately arrived we got the opportunity to train with the first team twice a week. It was a good experience.
How the move happened
The move to Chelsea happened when we were at the School of Excellence. They used to organise international tournaments every year. There was a tournament we went to for under-16s and they were a lot of teams like Chelsea, Man United and Everton. There were scouts there and they saw us there. There were teams interested in us, like Manchester. But Chelsea were more interested and they made more moves. I think they made more moves because there were agents connected with in South Africa and they pushed for the move to happen quicker. That's how the move happened. When we got to Chelsea, we were there for almost a year and we were loaned to Westerlo in Belgium because we didn't have enough international caps to play in England. We had to go to other European countries to get more experience and get the European passport.
The rands and cents
Remember when I left, I was probably 16 and I had never experienced getting a salary because I had come from the youth academy and went straight to Chelsea, a big team in Europe. At the time, I could not even compare, but I know it was a huge difference for a kid my age. At that point, I could not tell and when you are young, you are not focused on those things. I was more happy that I was going to play. The focus was not there (on money).
My first day in Europe
We came to Europe around the winter period and you could tell the difference in a lot of things, especially when you think of the set-up and where we were at that point, in London. You could see a lot of different things. Adjusting to the weather was the more difficult thing, but on the field, we were well prepared because everything from the School of Excellence was world class. The sessions and warm ups felt like we came into a familiar situation, but it was very cold and rainy most of the time. That's the first thing I struggled with.
My debut
When we were at Chelsea, we were playing against West Ham and it was a reserve team game, if I remember well. We played at the West Ham Stadium at the time and it was a big deal for a boy coming from South Africa. When I moved to Belgium, I think my debut was against Sint-Truidense if I am not mistaken.
Best player I played with
Tough one, but I can honestly say the people I trained with at Chelsea, for me. Emmanuel Petit. He was so slow, but he was very clever. He is the one who stood out for me. I learnt a lot from him as a midfielder. There were sessions where he would never lose the ball and you'd ask how that is possible. He was always two steps ahead. I can think of other players, but they don't stand out in my mind like he does. Later in my career, I played with Elrio van Heerden at Westerlo. Honestly, I don't think South Africans knew how good the guy was. That guy was very talented. I've never seen somebody make a session look easy. We would play five against five and he would probably dribble everyone in the other team. We as South Africans have never really seen his talent and did not get to enjoy it, because of injuries in between as well. But he was very talented.
Best player I played against
It would have to be (Khalilou) Fadiga from Senegal, when he was in Belgium playing for Gent. He was too good and strong on the ball. I played six and at that time he was playing more like number 10. He was too good. That's probably the toughest player I played against.
Biggest difference between European and SA football
When you compare the leagues, the European leagues are more organised, from amateur all the way up to the Premier League. Even teams that are in the lower divisions have more facilities than teams that are in the NFD (National First Division) in South Africa. And in terms of talent, South Africa has some of the most talented players, in my opinion, but I think the players in our country don't have the drive like before, when you look at players like (Macbeth) Sibaya, Steven Pienaar, Quinton Fortune, Lucas Radebe and Shaun Bartlett. I don't think they have the same drive and hunger to come play in Europe like it was before. Maybe it has to do with the money that the teams are now paying in South Africa and most players settling for comfortability.
What I am up to now
At the moment, I am busy coaching (in Belgium). I have been coaching for the past six years. I started with the youth, like what would be the DDC (DSTV Diski Challenge) team this side. Then I moved and, for the last three years, I have been the first team coach (at KESK Leopoldsburg). Everything is going well. I am loving it. It's my passion now.
Any current PSL players who can play in Europe?
Honestly, I don't have a lot of time to watch football at home. Sometimes I go through articles and headlines, but a lot of people talk about (Themba) Zwane. But I don't have enough time because I am focused on my work.
