Coach Morena Ramoreboli, who guided Bafana Bafana to COSAFA Cup triumph on Sunday evening, appreciated the role national team goalkeeper Veli Mothwa played during the tournament.
Mothwa, who captained Bafana, was instrumental in the national team’s performance during the tournament. He even scored and saved one of the penalties during Bafana’s 5-4 penalty shootout win over the Teranga Lions of Senegal at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Sunday evening.
This encounter was decided on penalties after the two sides failed to score in two hours of football.
The 30-year-old Mothwa kept clean sheets in the five matches he played for Bafana. As a result, he won the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award.
“They usually say leaders are not made. Leaders are born. You see some qualities in him, which makes you see that he is a born leader,” Ramoreboli said.
Ramoreboli added that having Mothwa as a captain was a plus for him as the AmaZulu goalkeeper helped in ensuring that the players were organised.
“His team was organised. Honestly speaking, I think Veli did a great job in terms of organising his team,” he said.
“They followed his instructions in terms of working together as a team. It was easy for us as coaches to give instructions because he had already done his part in making sure that everything was in order. Our meetings were running smoothly. He was always pushing and influencing players.”
The former Chippa United skipper was also among the players, who made their Bafana debuts during the COSAFA Cup tournament.
