TS Galaxy were one of the most spoken about teams after their historic win over Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup final earlier this year. Terrence Mashego was one of the star players for the Rockets and a lot of people expected the left-back to earn a move to greener pastures after being named the Nedbank Cup’s Most Promising Player.
However, Mashego stayed at Galaxy and created more history by being part of the CAF Confederations Cup squad that faced two-time African champions Enyimba. Soccer Betting News’ Banele Pikwa caught up with the player to find out what his plans are at the moment.
Banele Pikwa: Terrence, what a year you’ve had. How would you summarise 2019?
Terrence Mashego: Firstly, I didn’t expect things to go the way they did last season, to be honest. When I joined TS Galaxy from Mthatha Bucks, I was just looking for more game time and to improve as a player. It was a new team and my vision or plans was to cement regular game time, I really didn’t think I was joining a team that will cause so much history but when we got to the semi-finals that’s where I started believing that we can go on and win the Nedbank Cup and that’s where most players gained confidence. It was an amazing season and I will never forget it.
BP: Talking about the Nedbank Cup, you were one of the shining stars during the competition. Was this your first big tournament?
TM: No, it was the second time I played in the Nedbank Cup. When I was at Mthatha Bucks, we were knocked out in the Last 32 so I can say it was the first real tournament where I went as far as the finals.
BP: After the impressive displays, were there any interest from PSL teams?
TM: I’d be lying if I said there was a team that approached me because I’ve never received a phone call from anyone saying they are interested in me. My agent always tells me to focus on my game. He’s got very big plans for me but apart from that, no team has approached me personally and told me that they are interested.
BP: You also did well playing in the CAF Confederations Cup. Tell us about that experience?
TM: To be honest, I learnt a lot and not only about football but I got to learn about different cultures and saw how different people live. In football, we learnt about how teams around Africa are being run and how we can improve on becoming one of the best teams. It was an exciting experience and I’m grateful to be part of this journey. Seeing how difficult it is to operate for some Africans teams taught us a lot and showed us how lucky we are. It’s not easy playing in Africa but the experience we got there will help us a lot.
BP: How important is it for South African teams to take the Confederations Cup serious?
TM: Mate, that experience can make any player to grow and become one of the best. This competition has people from all over the continent and you get to learn how they play football and how you approach certain styles. If our teams can do well in these competitions then Bafana Bafana would do well also. Each player needs to know how to play against all types of styles and you can only learn that by going to Nigeria and playing against them. So, before we talk about our national team winning AFCON, I think we need to have more teams doing well in African competitions and by that, Bafana Bafana would stand a good chance.
BP: With the experience you have now do you think you are ready for playing in the PSL?
TM: Yes, definitely. To be honest, I’ve been ready since last season but the most important thing is to wait for your opportunity and that’s exactly what I’m doing.
BP: Is there a PSL team that you think you’d perform well at? A team that suites your style of play…
TM: I can play at any PSL team and my primary job is to defend and I believe in my defending abilities hence I say I can play at any club. It’s not about style of play or anything, I’m ready to play for any team. If the team is playing beautiful football and winning then that’s a bonus but my job as left-back is to defend well and I can play in any style be it overlapping, long balls or anything. If you are a player that’s looking for opportunities like myself you can’t be choosing teams because of their style of play.
BP: What’s the plan this season at TS Galaxy? Is it to defend your crown?
TM: The main priority this season is to gain promotion and if you look at it we are not far off the log leaders. They are doing really well so far and our main focus is to catch up with them because they already have the points and we have game in-hands which are not necessary points but we need to push so we can convert those games in hand into points in hands. If we can work really hard we can push all the way we’ve got an exciting squad that is fearless and well-motivated.
BP: Terrence, we can chat the whole day my man thanks a lot for your time.
TM: No problem.