Lebohang Mokoena feels Themba Zwane was blessed to join Mamelodi Sundowns at a time when there was the likes of Surprise Moriri, Esrom Nyandoro, Katlego Mphela, Anthony Laffor and Elias Pelembe.
Back in 2011, Zwane was unveiled alongside Teko Modise at Chloorkop during the January transfer window. Of course, it was Modise who got most of the attention that day.
Little did the media know that Zwane would go on to be a Sundowns icon and a national team hero who is currently playing an important role at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. The 34-year-old has won back-to-back man of the match awards in Ivory Coast, as he played a key role in Bafana Bafana's journey to the last 16 of the competition.
"Whenever Mshishi gets the ball, I'm sure Surprise Moriri is the first person to jump up and down. He's such an exceptional player. It's from all the things he learnt when he came to Sundowns to join us. He came in when all these senior guys were there. He would not always play or come on as substitute, but he was learning. I could see that he was learning a lot. He was learning movements and he was learning how to score goals," Mokoena said to the Siya crew.
"Coach Pitso told him that he gets into good positions, but he was not finishing. He started working on that and look what it has made him out to be. He is one of the best in the country. I just wish maybe two years back he could have made a move to a Spanish or French league. But what a player. He's exceptional. Even in person, he is such a great. I always get excited when I see him play."
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At the time, Mokoena and his Sundowns teammates could tell that Zwane would one day get an opportunity to play for the national team.
"We would always say that his time would come (in the national team) because, at that time, some of us were in the national team. There was always that motivation from guys like Esrom, Surprise, Killer, Teko, Pelembe and Laffor. We would tell him that his time would come and he would do more than what we were doing," Mokoena concluded.
Zwane is certainly making his mark in the national team, like his former teammates predicted.
Bafana take on Morocco in the last 16 of Afcon on Tuesday night.
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