Johannesburg - "It's things like this, going to the (Fifa) Club World Cup,” Thapelo Morena said with a smile in response to why he chose to join Mamelodi Sundowns over Kaizer Chiefs.
The 23-year-old’s move to Amakhosi from Bloemfontein Celtic was as good as a done deal but he refused to go to Naturena, telling his agent that he wants to go to Chloorkop. Four months into his time at Sundowns he has witnessed his teammates become African kings. Yesterday he left with them to Japan where the Brazilians will compete with the kings of the other five confederations for the honour of being club world champions.
“Sundowns were playing in the CAF Champions League when I was deciding on my next club,” Morena said. “I had this belief that they would go far. I wanted to be a part of that. That’s what drove me to choose them. I wanted to come here and fight like they were fighting. I wanted to achieve the achievements they were raking up. I knew that I would deliver. I wanted to be a part of a winning team.
"There were people who said that I wouldn’t get game time and this move was suicidal. But I looked at Keagan (Dolly) and Khama (Billiat). People said the same thing about them. They are now important components of the team. They have won a lot of things since coming here. I said let me take this risk and see what happens. I have been playing and now I am at the Club World Cup.”
This is the second time that Morena is in Japan this year. He was there with the national Under-23 team in June. They went there to play a friendly against the Japanese Under-23s to prepare for the Olympics. Morena did enough to be selected in the squad that went to Brazil for the Olympics after that. But it wasn’t enough to be in the playing squad. He was among the four players on standby. Being on standby is a familiar position for Morena.
He spent his first three months at Sundowns on standby while his teammates competed in the Champions League. That delayed him fully gelling into the team because there were too many pauses between the Brazilians’ domestic league matches, which he was eligible for, and their African sojourn that he had to watch from the stands because he wasn’t registered for it.
Whenever he was given a chance he made the most of it, even when he was pushed back from playing as a winger to rightback. His defensive role isn’t completely new. He played there at Phunya Sele Sele at first after he was spotted by Molefi Ntseki at the 2012 SAB National Championships in Nelspruit.
“I understood that I wouldn’t play in the Champions League because I wasn’t registered for it. I had to be constantly switched on though because when we played the league, I had to fight to be in the starting XI.
"The positions that I play aren’t that difficult to adjust to. The only difference is the movements that I have to make. Being on standby and waiting isn’t something that I took negatively. I told myself that whatever happens I’ll get my chance. I just need to patient and ensure that I am ready when called upon.”
Sundowns have to wait before they start their Club World Cup campaign on Sunday. On Thursday they will watch the Japanese champions and hosts Kashima Antlers battle it out with Oceania champions Auckland City in Osaka.
The Brazilians will take on the winner of that match in Yokohama in the quarter-finals. Should they make it to the semi-finals, they’ll take on South American champions Atletico Nacional and probably Real Madrid in the final. If they make it that far, Morena will have to try and stop Christiano Ronaldo in his new-old position as a rightback.
“I am going to do my best because it will be my duty. I will try to stop him from creating chances or scoring. I am looking forward to that challenge because I am not one to back down from a fight. I have been looking forward to playing against the best players in the world. I didn’t think it would happen this soon. That’s what being at Sundowns has afforded me, fast-tracking certain things in my life.”