FORMER Moroka Swallows legend Les Grobler says his son Bradley can reach the all-time PSL scorer’s record held by Siyabonga Nomvethe if he remains injury free.
Nomvethe retired last year to focus on his coaching career, where he is assistant to AmaZulu mentor Benni McCarthy.
The 32-year-old Bradley has scored 84 goals in his professional career so far, having recently made history when he became SuperSport United’s all-time top scorer with 58 goals.
With this he broke Abram Raselemane’s record of 57 goals.
Said the 59-year-old Les: “It depends on injuries and what happens in the next couple of years.
“How long his body can take him. Everything is going well for him and he can get to 94.
“He could be closer to the record, but not being 100% fit affected his game in the past.
“The last two years he has been injury free. But if he stays injury free he can get there (to 123).
“It also depends on the amount of games played.”
Les, who used to torment opposition defenders during his heydays in the top flight, revealed that discipline was key for his son’s success. Bradley currently tops the DStv Premiership scorers chart on 10 goals from 11 matches.
Added Les: “Discipline and hard work are key factors. In football, you learn all the time and his mentality is good. He has gone through problems (injury) in the past, but managed to come out of it.”
Les said he has taught Bradley about finishing technics while he was still young.
“He showed potential at a young age. I coached him until he was 16 and 17 in the Vodacom League (ABC Motsepe). I also coached him at Silver Stars Under-19 team.
“He has a passion for football and he is a natural scorer. It’s been a long time since I played professionally, but we have a lot of similarities in our style of play.
“We play as a target man, are both strong in the air, can use both feet and we also assist (other players) in scoring goals. We can play with our back to the goal or going forward.”
Les, the former head of development at Highlands Park, said a top striker should be able to score a goal per game, which is difficult these days due to change in formations.
“A top scorer should have one or two half-chances, one scoring chance, odd games where you don’t score, and then score a hat-trick. But it’s easier said than done due to formation changes and the fact that tactics are more involved these days,” he added.
