Lioli mourns Tshabalala

MASERU-Lioli Football Club is mourning the untimely death of head coach Thomas Tshabalala who died on Sunday.
Lioli president Lebohang Thotanyana took to social media on Sunday to announce Tshabalala’s death and express the club’s sorrow.

The Vodacom Premier League outfit said Tshabalala, who was 57, was suffering from flu.
The news has rocked ‘Tse Nala’.
The South African born tactician joined Lioli last September and signed up for the 2020/21 campaign. He only coached the Teyateyaneng giants for three matches before the season was halted in December because of a nationwide increase in Covid-19 cases with ‘Tse Nala’ lying seventh in the league.

According to the club’s spokesperson, Motlatsi Mofokeng, Tshabalala had an underlying sickness of high blood pressure.
Mofokeng said Tshabalala developed flu soon after Lioli’s league match against Lifofane on December 20 was postponed when Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro announced an initial two-week long national lockdown.
Tshabalala took medication while he was at home but his condition worsened and he was taken to Berea Hospital two weeks ago where he was admitted.

Mofokeng said Tshabalala tested positive for Covid-19 while he was receiving medical care. He said the club’s executive management would go to the hospital to check on Tshabalala until they were not able to see him at all because he couldn’t walk.
He died on Sunday at the hospital.

Since the announcement of Tshabalala’s death, condolences have poured in from all quarters of the football fraternity.
On Monday, the Lesotho Football Association (LEFA) president, Advocate Salemane Phafane KC, conveyed his sympathies to Tshababala’s family and Lioli on behalf of Lesotho football.
LEFA said it is saddened by Tshabalala’s untimely death.

“Mr Tshabalala is among several South Africa-born coaches who were trained by the Lesotho Football Association and our football will be poorer without his expertise and charisma, which he proved in his short spell in charge of Lioli during the 2020/2021 season,” Phafane said in a statement.
Tshabalala arrived in Lesotho in February 2020 and immediately gained prominence when he led Lifofane to the Matekane Group of Companies (MGC) Top 4 trophy in March 2020, just a month after he was appointed.

Mofokeng said Tshabalala had already managed to end divisions within the Lioli squad in his short time in charge, and the team was “now a family.”
He said they appointed the South African mentor due to his track record and Lioli were confident he was the right person to lead the club back to glory.

“Our performances over the last few years were not good and in a short period he was with us we saw a difference,” Mofokeng said.
“He changed Lioli,” he added.
“In the few games we played we saw an improvement and the divisions amongst the squad no longer existed, we were now a family.”

Lioli, who are five-time league champions, haven’t won the league since in 2016 and have finished outside the top four for the past two seasons.
Mofokeng said they have reasons to believe things were turning around given their good start to the season under Tshabalala.
“This is sad and a very difficult one for us to take. To lose a coach midway (through the season) is difficult. I really loved him,” Mofokeng said.

Tshabalala’s former employers, Lifofane, had nothing but good things to say about him. The club’s general manager, Letšolo Maliehe, said they are also mourning and hurt by his death. Maliehe said their MGC Top 4 triumph, which was Lifofane’s first top-flight trophy, is an achievement they are still grateful to Tshabalala for.
On their way to winning the trophy the underdogs memorably beat Linare in the semi-finals before they defeated Matlama on penalties in the final that was held in Bocheletsane, Thaba-Tseka.
“Everyone has a way that they work with and he had his way,” Maliehe said of Tshabalala.

“We worked with him quite well up until he left the club. Of course, we were not happy that he joined Lioli, he was our coach, but there was no bad blood between us. We still talked when we met and we still hoped he would come back to our club, but now he is no more. We are hurt. We are affected as well and it is a difficult time for all of us,” he said.
Maliehe said Tshabalala was somebody who spoke his mind and would always be honest with his players.

Tshabalala was also well known in the media for giving explosive interviews and he was liked by many who valued his honesty and felt his carefree character would spice up the local game.
His death is not Lioli’s loss alone but the whole football fraternity is mourning.
Mofokeng said Tshabalala had a vision for how he wanted Lioli to play and it was in line with the club’s traditions and values.

“We followed his work closely and we made a decision that he is the coach we wanted,” Mofokeng said.
“We liked the way he played football, it was a fast-paced (style of) football that produced lots of goals. Here at home, we play one way and the way we do it doesn’t produce goals, but when we first talked to him about it, he immediately told us where the problem was and we were stunned. At the time he had not even taken a training session,” he added.

Mofokeng urged Basotho to adhere to Covid-19 regulations and stay safe.
Even though the coronavirus is ravaging through the country with over 8 000 cases recorded, there are still people who don’t believe the virus is real. Mofokeng said Covid-19 is real and it kills.
There is no cure for the virus and measures are being put in place to ensure Basotho obey lockdown regulations in order to try and control the spread of the virus.

Before joining Lifofane, Tshabalala was in charge of Amavarara in the ABC Motsepe League which is South Africa’s third division.
Last January, Tshabalala took Amavarara to the last 32 of the Nedbank Cup, which is South Africa’s national cup competition, for the first time in the club’s history.

Tlalane Phahla