Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Neo Maema has explained how he handled the time while he was not playing at the club.
Maema, who is part of the Bafana Bafana Nations Championship (Chan) squad, said he always motivated himself when he was not playing and that's worked for him. The 29-year-old has struggled for game time this past season.
Since joining the club from Bloemfontein Celtic in 2021, Maema has racked up 120 games, scoring 13 goals with 14 assists while winning the league in each of the last four seasons.
“In football, you have to be professional first and the next thing is to accept the situation that you are in. Make sure you look at yourself, check your performances and how you train and make sure you change a few things and work harder to come back strong,” Maema told the media after Bafana's friendly match against Angola at Lucas Moripe Stadium yesterday, where they drew 1-1.
“So, I'm my own motivation. I make sure that whenever I get an opportunity, whether it is an international team or my club, there are no issues there.”
This is the second time Maema is called into Bafana Chan squad and he said he will use this opportunity again to get his match fitness.
“It's a huge achievement for me to be here; I'm excited and it's an honour to represent the country in arguably the second biggest tournament in Africa. I'm happy,” he said.
“It's all about trying to get a little bit of minutes and chance to play. Coach Molefi Ntseki allowed me to come; it was my first call-up last time and I was happy to join the team.”
Bafana will face Nigeria in their first match on August 8 at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Uganda.
The tournament will be held in East Africa in three countries, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – between August 2-30 and Maema is optimistic that they will do well.
“We are professionals and we are going into the tournament. We don't need a lot of time, we just need cohesion between the players because we come from different teams and we just need to make sure we come together.
“Match fitness is always going to be a little bit of a problem, but I don't think it's something to worry about because we have a week left before our first game and we will push harder to make sure we are ready for the tournament.”
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