MOGAMAD ALLIE: Things look up for SA footballers plying their trade in Europe

After a long period of darkness, a bright new dawn seems to be emerging for SA footballers campaigning overseas.

The stellar exploits of stars like Lucas Radebe, Benni McCarthy, Sibusiso Zuma, Quinton Fortune, Mark Fish, Shaun Bartlett, Eric Tinkler and Aaron Mokoena in Europe’s top leagues in the 1990s and early 2000s was followed by a disturbing lull in exports from this country to follow in their footsteps.    

While SA players continued to move to Europe, it was largely to play in lower profile leagues such as Sweden and the lower divisions in Portugal.

The healthy green shoots of the past few months have provided hope that the new generation can force the prophets of doom to swallow their words. More importantly, it also provides Bafana coach Hugo Broos with a pool of players campaigning at a higher level as he plots the national team’s campaign for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and January’s Africa Cup of Nations. 

Over the weekend Lyle Foster continued his solid start to life in the Premier League with Burnley, netting a well-taken goal. It was his first in the top flight with the newly promoted side and his second for the club since joining them in January.     

The Soweto-born striker, who turns 23 next week, won widespread admiration for his man of the match performance in Burnley’s 3-0 defeat by champions Manchester City, claiming the accolade ahead of Erling Haaland despite the Norwegian’s brace. Foster followed that up with his first top-flight strike, using his power and skill to net his side’s only goal in a 3-1 loss to Aston Villa on Saturday.   

Encouragingly, Burnley coach Vincent Kompany expects his South African striker to continue improving, which is great news for Broos.  

“We can’t forget his age, he’s still fairly young. But he’s just continuing what we’ve seen in the entire preseason,” the former Manchester City captain said after the game. 

“He has the speed to run in behind. He’s strong to hold the ball up. In addition, he’s able to combine with his teammates and to score a goal as well.” 

Also promising in the striker department, an area in which Bafana have been found wanting following the retirement of record goal-scorer McCarthy in 2012 and his successor Katlego Mphela shortly afterwards, has been the form of Bongokuhle Hlongwane with Major Soccer League (MLS) side Minnesota United in the US. 

This season the 23-year-old striker, who moved to the US from Maritzburg United last January, has already scored six goals in 22 appearances for a side coached by former Everton striker Adrian Heath. Hlongwane also netted seven goals in five games, including three braces in the Leagues Cup, a one-month competition featuring all the teams from the MLS and the Mexican League.

The Bafana striker was second in the competition’s scoring charts to player of the tournament Lionel Messi, who rippled the net 10 times in Inter Miami’s march to the cup as the Argentine genius became the game’s most decorated player by winning his 44th title. 

Also in the MLS, former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Njabulo Blom continues to impress for St Louis City, who hold a healthy four-point lead at the top of the Western Conference.  

Last week’s move to Dutch Eredivisie side Volendam by former Stellenbosch and SuperSport United midfielder Luke le Roux is another potentially exciting one for both the player and the national team.  

It may not be the most glamorous of clubs but it’s certainly a step up from Sweden’s Allsvenskan, where Le Roux commanded a regular starting berth at Varberg in the four seasons he spent with the club that survived last season’s relegation play-offs.  

Moving to the Eredivisie should be another stepping stone for the 23-year-old as he follows in the footsteps of compatriots McCarthy, Pienaar, Mokoena, Bernard Parker, Hans Vonk, Thulani Serero, Kermit Erasmus and, most notably, trailblazer Steve “Kalamazoo” Mokone. 

Mokone achieved legendary status with Heracles Almelo after helping the club lift the 1958 Tweede Divisie title. Such was the esteem in which the striker was held in the Netherlands that he had a street in Amsterdam named after him together with a stand in Heracles’ Polman Stadion.   

Playing against the likes of Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven, AZ Alkmaar and FC Twente, among others, should greatly assist Le Roux’s development and growth. He  is expected to be a key player for a team where top Dutch international Arnold Muhren started his career in 1970.  

There’s also Mihlali Mayambela doing well for Aris Limassol, with whom he won the Cyprus first division last season, and former Platinum Stars teenage prodigy Kobamelo Kodisang whose 11 goals played a major role in helping Moreirense return to Portugal’s Primera Liga.

All in all, things are looking up for SA footballers plying their trade in Europe. With  the shop window that is the Africa Cup of Nations coming up in January, there could be more players from this country making the move to the leagues of Europe, the US and, who knows, maybe even cash-flush Saudi Arabia too.