Uganda Cranes goalkeeper Dennis Onyango is not arrogant, just
confident. He is not aggressive, just forthright – unless, of course,
you are striker charging at him. The Mamelodi Sundowns no.1 believes so
much in his abilities it’s inspiring. The other man that admirably
believes in Onyango’s abilities is his coach Pitso Mosimane.
Mosimane
maintains Onyango – a one-time Africa Player of the Year (based on the
continent) – is still the confederation’s undisputed between the sticks.
Actually, Onyango is so good – he has been for quite some time now –
he is running other goalkeepers scared in South Africa. Mosimane was
asked by the media over a week ago about his aging players and the
club’s succession plans.
The Sundowns coach went about
mentioning different areas on the pitch and their available
understudies. On reaching Onyango, who has been at Chloorkop since 2011,
there was a problem.
“To replace Onyango,” said Mosimane, “Is going
to be the biggest problem for us. You can see that a lot of teams want
to hold on to their goalkeepers, why should they give them to you? “And
some keepers say why should they come to Sundowns and compete with
Onyango? How can I compete with No.1 in Africa? People don’t want to
come and compete with Onyango.”
Great feeling
Even
for the amiable Onyango, 35 in May, those were powerful words from the
man he has grown to deeply respect. “It’s a great feeling to have a
coach who believes in me like that and gives me full responsibility over
a team like Sundowns,” Onyango told Daily Monitor.
“But it also
comes with a lot of pressure and responsibilities because now it means I
have to play all the games and I must look after myself all the time
and stay focused.” Onyango had encouraging words for goalkeepers
reportedly avoiding Sundowns because of him. Yet, even in his reassuring
words you do not need lenses to see through his competitiveness.
“Other
keepers shouldn’t fear to come because they make me better and they
should believe in themselves,” advised the former SC Villa goalkeeper.
“Nothing
in life is given free. You have to work for it and there is no space
for comfort zone. So if they are scared it means they like being in the
comfort zone other than competing.”
Having joined
Masandawana nine years ago, Onyango has three league titles to his name,
the Caf Champions League and Caf Super Cup trophies.
He was also
named Africa’s no.1 (based in Africa) in the same year he won the 2016
continental gongs. Around the same time he was also named in Caf X1, and
claimed the PSL Goalkeeper of the season.
For his immense
contribution, Onyango was handed a new four-and-a-half-year contract
extension in February 2019, which will keep him at Sundowns until 2023.
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