Young Siyanda Ngubo’s international football
career started when he was just 12 years old when he represented Bree Primary
School in the 2008 Danone Nations Cup world finals in France. Since then
he has been with the Orlando Pirates development academy and has played for the
under 17, under 19 and Bafana Bafana national teams.
Siyanda is now 19 years old and a bright
football future awaits him. He is currently on loan to Royal Eagles
in Durban for the season before returning to Orlando Pirates. “Soccer is
everything to me. I have played with and against great players and have
been coached by great coaches. It has been an interesting and exciting
journey since my Danone Nations Cup days and I look forward to what the future
holds. I am hoping to get in more play time when I get back to Orlando
Pirates.”
Siyanda looks back fondly on his year at Bree
Primary and his trip to France and admits it played a huge part in his
development as a player. “The world finals opened my eyes to the
opportunities there are out there and helped build my confidence.”
His road to football success began
humbly. “I used to play soccer in the streets of Kwamakhutha in Durban
with my friends,” he said. “Then when I was 9 years old my friends and I
decided to join the local club in the area, Young Boys.”
His coach at the time was Mlungisi Mchunu who
saw the potential in the youngster and in 2007 took some of the boys to
Johannesburg to attend trails at Orlando Pirates. “We were there for a week.
Then a week after being home I received the call from Mandla Qhoki of Orlando
Pirates development who informed me that I should start packing because Orlando
Pirates wanted to sign me for their Academy.”
In January 2008 Siyanda joined Bree Primary
on a scholarship. “I will never forget that year. It was the year that I
got signed to the academy and the year that I got to travel internationally for
the very first time,” Siyanda said.
“I could not believe that I was joining the
very club that I loved so much. Being a part of the academy was
inspirational. We interacted with the first team and got to travel and
play soccer. My first trip was to France and that experience helped me decide
that football was going to be my life no matter what. This shaped and paved my
soccer career and I will forever be grateful for both Danone and Orlando
Pirates.”
Siyanda remembers every minute of the trip to
France. One of the highlights was seeing the Eiffel tower. “We
would also sing when we got out of our buses, before a match and even after a
game. All countries loved us, they loved hearing us sing, and we won the trophy
for team spirit at the end of the tournament.”
After completing primary school Siyanda went
to Johannesburg Secondary School where he matriculated.
In 2011, at age 15, he was selected to be a
part of the SA under-17 national team. “It was my first call up and I was
honoured to wear the national jersey, I wore it with pride because I worked
very hard to get selected. We played qualifying games for the u-17 African
Championship but unfortunately we didn’t qualify.”
In 2012 he was selected for the SA u-20
national team that won the Cosafa Cup, and in 2014 Orlando Pirates signed
Siyanda and loaned him to a North West team called NW Shining Stars who
participate in the ABC Motsepe League.
He was there for one year and that same year
got his first senior national call up.
“When Shakes Mashaba was coaching us as under
20’s he always said that if we play well and work hard we will get more call
ups. So when I was selected I knew that it was because I was working hard and
it showed, Shakes credits hard workers and gives them a chance,” Siyanda said.
He played in the SA senior team during the
Nelson Mandela challenge. “I learned so much from all the players that I played
with. They knew that it was my first time and they gave me advice and just told
me to play and forget about the nerves.”
Siyanda has some advice for the Bree team
that has qualified for the Danone Nations Cup world finals happening in Morocco
in October. “Firstly I want to congratulate the team for reaching the
World Finals. It is not an easy achievement I know how hard it is. My
advice would be to just play the soccer that they know best and they should not
try to imitate what other countries are doing.
“Scoring goals early in the games is very
important. They must relax, be focused and remember to have fun, make
friends and enjoy Morocco.”
About Danone
Danone
Southern Africa is part of the Danone Group, one of the fastest-growing food
companies in the world. Danone is present in over 120 countries across
all continents. With 160 plants and around 100,000 employees, the Danone Group
is the number one worldwide for Fresh Dairy Products. Danone’s mission is to
bring health through food to as many people as possible.
One of the core values of the Danone Nations Cup
tournament is to encourage young people to believe in their dreams. Through
this initiative Danone offers a sporting event that reaches out to and inspires
millions of children all over the world
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