Lack of international experience could thwart Siyabonga Nomvete’s plans to move to Sunderland
Neal Collins in London
Sunderland’s bid to sign South African striker Siyabonga Nomvete could be derailed by work permit problems.
Manager Peter Reid has let it be known that he is “very interested” in the Bafana Bafana goalgetter – but fears the 23-year-old has not played enough internationals to impress the British Home Office.
Two weeks ago Nomvete made a cloak-and- dagger trip to England where he watched Sunderland train. Reid said this week: “He’s a nice lad and he’s got plenty of talent. It would be safe to say we’ll be keeping a close eye on him.”
Nomvete has played 10 games for South Africa, scoring three goals. He needs to be “an established international” who participates in 75% of Bafana Bafana’s games to qualify for a work permit in England.
Reid sent former Everton star Andy King, his chief scout, to South Africa on a spying mission last month and it was King who returned with the name of Kaizer Chiefs striker Nomvete high on his list of targets.
With veteran former Arsenal and Manchester City striker Niall Quinn (34) reaching the end of his career at the Stadium of Light, Reid is eager to find a top-quality strike partner for Kevin Phillips, the Premiership’s top scorer this season.
Quinn has scored 13 goals in the league this season, Phillips has 29 -eight more than his nearest rival, England captain Alan Shearer. Together the Sunderland strikers are the top-scoring duo in the Premiership – but Reid fears age will soon catch up with Republic of Ireland striker Quinn, who will be 35 in October.
Nomvete could be the latest in a long line of Bafana Bafana stars to move to England – Lucas Radebe (Leeds United), Mark Fish (Bolton Wanderers), Eric Tinkler (Barnsley) and Quinton Fortune (Manchester United) have paved the way for the former African Wanderers striker.
The man from KwaZulu-Natal’s rise has been little less than staggering. Nomvete went to primary school in Thandokwazi and started playing football in Grade Three. He graduated to Sumelazi High School and played for Cosmos – not Jomo Sono’s lot, an amateur outfit in Durban – in 1994.
Then it was on to the Claremont Blizzards, who promptly folded, leaving Nomvete free to sign for Hammarsdale’s African Wanderers, one of South Africa’s yo-yo clubs.
Playing up front with Sibusiso Zuma and Phumlani Mkhize, Nomvete’s goals saw Wanderers promoted to the Premier Soccer League in 1997 – but, as is their custom, they went straight back down.
Crucially though, Nomvete scored three times in two games against the mighty Amakhosi – and Chiefs moved in for his signature when Wanderers were relegated.
While Zuma and Mkhize went to arch- rivals Orlando Pirates, Nomvete opted to wear the black and gold. And, after three seasons in the shadow of triple champions Mamelodi Sundowns, his goals are helping to lift the gloom hanging over Kaizer Motaung’s outfit.
Nomvete says: “I’ll play in any country as long as I get a decent wage! People are asking me about going to Italy but I’m ready to go and play anywhere so I can learn technique and gain experience.”
Nomvete, considered the least promising of the Wanderers strike trio a few short years ago, originally struggled to make the Chiefs line-up. But his pace, power and – crucially – his keen eye for goal have seen him become a regular for club and country. He was probably the only real star of South Africa’s African Cup of Nations campaign in Ghana and Nigeria earlier this year, where they reached the semi-finals.
Nomvete, interviewed in last month’s African Soccer magazine, admits: “I was disappointed when we lost 2-0 to Nigeria, but the defenders were watching me closely. Whenever I got the ball, three players would close in on me and I had too little support to be effective.
“I didn’t expect the call to the national side because I was so young and inexperienced but I have worked hard. Even when the team is not training I go out to the pitch and train on my own. I go to the gym, and I do a lot of running and abdominal exercises. Physical fitness is very important in modern football and a lot of players train without giving their best. If I work hard off the pitch I know that on match day I can give my best.”
That kind of work ethic sounds perfect for any aspiring Premiership player in England. Now all he needs is an extended run in the South African team to cement the big move.
Nomvete says: “Of all my friends I’m the only one playing football. I still run into some of them, and it’s unfortunate that some of them have turned to crime and excessive drinking.”
More cheerfully, Nomvete says: “I just want to work hard, creating and scoring goals, encouraging the young and upcoming players of the future. If I do so, I will have the opportunity to play for a big club in Europe and achieve my ambitions.”