Three South African youngsters are set to jet off to Spain to attend trials, the Siya crew has been reliably informed.
The three players are from Thunderstorm Amaro Youth Development in Gauteng and they are Thato Mpati (16), Olwethu Guliwe (17) and Sisa Simani (21).
Local football coach and talent scout, Alpheus Thantsha, organised the trials and has shared all the details with the Siya crew.
"There are three players that have been identified and the first one is Thato Mpati who is a 16-year-old centre-back and is standing at 1.75 metres tall. The boy hails from Polokwane in Limpopo. He was playing for the Limpopo School of Excellence, and I have been following his career since June last year. In December, I had him come to Johannesburg to train with the youth of Jomo Cosmos. I noticed that I had not made a mistake in spotting such a talent and I was able to work closely with him as on some days he would be training with the Cosmos U-17 team, while he also spent some of the time with Thunderstorm Amaro. I then, as usual, spoke to my Spanish connections and sent them the profile of the boy. Thato is a very solid centre-back with great football technique and a very hard marker. What caught my eye more about the boy was his discipline. I have worked with many players, but the discipline that the boy possesses is unquestionable which is what I believe is the weapon needed to excel in this football journey. Thato will depart South Africa for Madrid, and he will be under Deportivo Del Camino and at least once or twice a week he will be assessed by the coaches of Deportivo Leganes Academy," confirmed Thantsha.
"I also have Olwethu Guliwe. Having knocked on different doors and none opened, I noticed his talent when he trained in Florida under the watchful eye of Mbulelo Diniso. I saw great talent and didn't waste time but approached his mentor Mr Sbusiso Moyana with whom I pitched an idea of trying the boy in the MDC. It was not long after that I had the privilege of coaching the boy myself and then noticed something different about him. He's a great player, he can do anything with the ball, he's smart and he is composed. I became confused as to which is his actual position because the boy is very versatile. He has great technique to take those shots on target, he can mark the entire 90 minutes with no mistake, he has great passing ability, he has the quality to motivate his teammates and to push them to the limit. That's when I said instead of begging coaches in South Africa to give such an obvious talent a chance, I contacted my people overseas and sent them his profile also. Now we have a powerhouse which, if football in South Africa was fair, he would be groomed to represent the national team. But even though he's not starting here he will surely make a debut for the national team one day. He will have the privilege of obtaining a license to play in the División de Honor of Spain which is a top development structure featuring the likes of CD Leganés, Sevilla, Atlético Madrid, AD Alcorcón and others," the mentor added.
"Lastly, I have Sisa Simani and when they speak about football perfection, complication to simplicity, this is the kind of a player they are talking about. You know with mathematics usually you would have to show steps as to how you got an answer to whatever equation you are asked to solve. But this boy just applies answers to everything. He is 21 years old, great passer of the ball and is instilled with football intelligence. I wish I had met him earlier. He is going to be training with a third division team in Spain. As I am talking to you, I am busy organising their paperwork, and their tickets have already been booked for departure on 15 May at 19h10 from OR Tambo International Airport," concluded Thantsha.
