Born and raised in Ga-Mokgwathi village in Tzaneen, Limpopo, coach Raymond Mdaka has etched his name into SA football folklore after helping the SA Under-20 national side, Amajita, win their first-ever Afcon of their age group, beating Morocco 1-0 in the final in Cairo last Sunday.
During a chat with Sowetan, Mdaka asserted that several Amajita players will soon be household names, and also weighed in on their chances at the World Cup later this year.
Sowetan: Before winning the trophy, you had already told us that qualifying for the World Cup was the highlight of your career. Now you've won gold for SA, how big is this feat?
Mdaka: It still feels unreal that we won the Afcon. It's a feeling that will stay in my memory for a long time and again, this achievement is the biggest of my career. I am so proud of my boys ... they showed discipline, commitment and courage. It was not easy at all, but we understood that we were not representing ourselves but the country, so we fought for the nation until the end.
Sowetan: How are you imagining the future for these players?
Mdaka: To be honest with you, we have a talented bunch of players, so I believe most of them will be household names in the next few years. I have told them to stay focused and continue working hard to achieve even greater things because talent alone is never enough; you still have to work hard to win in life.
Sowetan: The focus is surely now shifting to the World Cup (in Chile, September 27 to October 19), what will be the main objective there?
Mdaka: We can't afford to put ourselves under unnecessary pressure, but we want to continue flying the SA flag high. We can't go there and just add numbers ... we will fight to qualify for the knockout phase of the competition; that's our main goal and with the talent we have, it's doable.
Sowetan: You soldiered on without a few key figures like Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Shandre Campbell at Afcon after their clubs refused to release them. Are you going to include them in the World Cup squad?
Mdaka: It's too early to say who will be selected for the World Cup. No one is guaranteed a spot, not even the players who were in Egypt. Everyone must work for their spot in the team, so we will take the players on merit, like we've been doing all along.
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