In an exclusive interview with Soccer Laduma this week, Lyle Foster opens up about his time in Europe and how it differs to being a young professional in South Africa.
The 19-year-old playmaker left Orlando Pirates in January 2019, where he completed a move to French side, AS Monaco and a few months later, was sent out on loan to Cercle Brugge in Belgium.
Since joining the club in January this year, Foster has made 21 appearances in all competitions, wherein he made the starting line-up eight times in the Jupiler Pro League.
Being just 19-years-old and playing fairly regularly in Europe, in issue number 1173 of Soccer Laduma, Foster was asked whether coaches abroad have more belief in youngsters compared to those here in Mzansi.
"Yes, for sure. At Club Brugge, Percy's team, there's a boy who was born in 2001 and he won the Player of the Month like twice and he started against Real Madrid. In my team, there's five players who were born in 2000. They are either 19 or they just turned 20," Foster explained.
"I think the average age at my team is 24 or 25. I always make the example of Borussia Dortmund – they go so far in the Champions League and two of their best players, (Erling) Haaland and (Jadon) Sancho, are my age. In Europe, it's just crazy and they believe in you. You always see new talent getting a chance, at the bigger and smaller teams. If we can implement that more in South Africa, we can go far," he added.
To read the full exclusive interview with Foster, where he also talked about:
- Coming up against Percy Tau in the Brugge derby
- The difference between the Brugge derby and the Soweto derby
- His journey from Orlando Pirates to Europe
Check out issue number 1173 of Soccer Laduma, available online.
