CAPE TOWN - When Cape Town City look up the word “serendipity” in the dictionary, they are likely to find the face of Austrian midfielder Roland Putsche staring up from the page.
Putsche made a sensational start to his PSL career, but there’s no doubt that his arrival was as the lexicon states “the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way”. Coincidence, fluke or serendipitous, call it what you will, City aren’t complaining. They have found a gem, who has quickly become an integral part of the squad.
After the 26-year-old’s contract with Wolfsberger AC in the Austrian Bundesliga ended last year, he set off on an African adventure. He wanted to travel, learn more about life, and assist under-privileged kids at the Young Bafana Soccer Academy in Somerset West.
But, with City being established at the same time, he went to the club on trial, in the hope of playing some football too. Club boss John Comitis and former coach Eric Tinkler were blown away. Putsche was signed and the rest, as they always say, was history. The Austrian has since become one of the most respected players in the PSL. Now the challenge is to continue the momentum this coming season.
“Last season, it was initially very difficult. I didn’t know anything about football in South Africa and it took some time to adapt," said Putsche. "But now I know the players, I know the teams, I know their styles, I know how they play, and I can be better prepared. I had a decent season last time, but there is always space to improve. The challenge for me is to carry on where I left off.”
Roland Putsche is staying active during the off season! #AustrianExpress #iamCityFC #CTCFC pic.twitter.com/bVdmCmnELt
— Cape Town City FC (@CapeTownCityFC) June 27, 2017
With Benni McCarthy replacing Tinkler, Putsche is relishing the opportunity of working with the Capetonian who carved out a successful career in Europe.
“As a player, Benni McCarthy was a star all over the world and I can assure you that in Europe he was very well-known,” said the Austrian. “He won the Champions League, has played in the English Premier League, and he was one of the main men for South African football.
“Already, on the training field, we can see the influence he is having on the squad. He has told us what he wants, and what he expects from us. The coach is also changing the way we usually play, and that is slowly coming through at training and in the friendlies we play.”
Putsche is also very happy at the success achieved by his teammates Lebogang Manyama and Aubrey Ngoma at the annual PSL awards last week. Manyama won the Footballer of the Season, Players’ Player of the Season and the Top Goal-scorer awards, while Ngoma was named as Telkom Knockout Player of the Tournament and the Midfielder of the Season.
“It was well-deserved, both of them were outstanding for us all season,” said Putsche. “Lebo was on form in almost every game - and now we, as a team, have to make sure that they can repeat their performances this season.”