Botswana qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals for only a second time when they surprised with a 1-1 draw away in Cairo against Egypt last month.
The Zebras had been in crisis when coach Didier Gomes da Rosa walked out on the team in October to take up a job in Libya and they turned to South African-born Morena Ramoreboli to try and get them over the line, appointing him as interim coach.
They would have qualified had they beaten Mauritania in Francistown in their penultimate Group C game in November but were held to a 1-1 draw, leaving Botswana needing to get a point in Cairo.
Not many gave them any chance against the strong Egyptians but they managed to score early and hold on for a 1-1 draw to ensure Botswana will go to next year’s finals in Morocco.
But what of Ramoreboli future with the team? The 43-year-old is coach at Botswana champions Jwaneng Galaxy.
He spoke to SuperSport.com.
Are Botswana going to give you the national team job on a fulltime basis?
“To be honest, I was given the responsibility to provide a service by the President of Botswana Football Association. And I think I did that. I went out to make sure that I represent the country, and I provide the service. I regard myself like a chef who was asked to prepare the meal. I have prepared the meal. The meal was served, and now it is up to the people who were eating the meal to say, ‘no, it was good. We'll want you to prepare another meal for us’. So, at this stage, I don't want to put myself under pressure and say, ‘hey, I want this. I can do this’. There's my responsibility at Jwaneng Galaxy, which also needs my concentration, my attention. And I'm trying my level best to make sure that I don't divide my attention. If it comes, I will take it. If it doesn't come, I'll accept and I'll appreciate the opportunity they have given to me.”
Last season, Galaxy stunned Orlando Pirates in reaching the group phase of the African Champions League but this time lost to them in the second round. How disappointing was it for you not to qualify again and build on what you had achieved last season?
“Hey, disappointing, but let's be honest we were playing against one of the big teams in the continent. When you had won against the very same team last year, obviously things were going to be difficult for us this time around, because the motivation level is different. The commitment from the players was different. We’ve had quickly to accept and understand that it was not meant to be. But the most important thing is to say ‘can we try our level best to improve our performance and maybe qualify again next year so that we can compete again in the Champions League?’ I believe it is possible it will happen again. We have taken lessons and understand that sometimes you need to be strong mentally to deal with certain things. Sometimes you need to understand that the level of pressure that you might go through needs you to understand that it's a game of football and a lot of things that are happening. So we have learnt and we’re going to improve.”
Here in South Africa, we often see your name pop up when a new job becomes available, but we've yet to see you in the Premier Soccer League. Is there a reason perhaps we haven't seen you as a coach of a PSL club, or is that something that's on the future radar for you?
“To be honest, I have been approached several times by different clubs, even first division clubs in SA but I’ve said to myself ‘let me grow the brand. Let me also learn the continental challenges and the type of football to expect when you are in the north’. I have interest of going back to SA but I think it should be at the right time and when I'm also ready for that kind of an opportunity. But I told myself that I'm not going to close that door, if the offer is good and the vision is there to be understood. Secondly, I've told myself that I don't want to be a coach that moves from one club to the other just because you're looking for an opportunity, but I want to grow and make sure that I do things right, so that even when I leave Jwaneng Galaxy, it is with good spirit, so that tomorrow when things are not going well and I want to come back, they can quickly open the door and say, ‘here's our man and he's back’. I think I have also had to develop a little bit of patience in making sure that I do things right. Everybody wants money, but we need to understand that you don't sell your career for money, but you build your career to make money.”
Botswana will be very reluctant to let you go …
“I believe so. But to be honest, I think I had several meetings with my bosses and to some extent they were saying they will be very happy to see me leaving, whether to go to national team or to go a club that is bigger than them, and the club that will really take care of the talent that I have. But at the same time they are also saying it should be for the right reasons. They have always been supportive to me. And this is not about being loyal, but it's about being honest about situations. Because if I move now to a club that has already done pre-season, have already signed players, there's a possibility that I might get there and find six-seven players who can complement how I want to play. Another mistake that most of us making when we get offers, we forget to check whether the personnel there will help you to achieve what you are being mandated to achieve. So, it's best that you wait and take your time. Let me profile the team, let me analyze individuals within the team and see if they will complement what I want to bring into the team. And if they do, then it's easy for you to take over and start working.”
It was 10 years ago that they were 10 players from Botswana in the PSL, but now only one. Are South African clubs overlooking Botswana talent at the moment? Are they missing out?
“I think when you are in the Africa Cup of Nations, when you compete and are doing well on the continent, that's when clubs develop an interest. There were a lot of players like you're saying, who went to South Africa, and they did very well. But let's be honest, if the the level drops, even clubs that can easily get players from Botswana lose interest. At the moment, we only have four players who are playing outside the country, and they are playing in Africa, one at (Kaizer) Chiefs (Thatayaone Ditlhokwe), two in Morocco, one in Algeria. Now we if we want to increase the pool of players going outside, we need to firstly be stable in our performance. People will start to follow now and say, ‘who made it possible for Botswana to go into Africa Cup of Nations?’ Then maybe we'll see that number of 10 or more increasing again in the South African league.”
