MASERU-The name Kamela is well-known in local football thanks to the exploits of Lesotho international Jerry Kamela and his success with Linare.
Kamela’s career, which has been filled with trophies and match-winning moments, is one that many can only dream of and the 28-year-old is already assured of being remembered as one of the finest talents of his generation.
However, Jerry isn’t the only Kamela that has made waves in local football. His younger brother Khubetsoana is regarded as one of the best young players in the country and his feats have not gone unnoticed.
While he is yet to reach the heights of his older brother, the 21-year-old is forging a promising career of his own and has dreams of hording silverware like his brother.
Of course, it is not easy being the ‘baby brother’ of one Lesotho’s most decorated players and Khubetsoana has always dealt with constant comparisons to his brother.
As he sits down with thepost, Khubetsoana admits it has been difficult at times but, at the end of the day, the younger Kamela is his own man.
The Leribe native says he is nothing like his brother and the comparisons have not gone to his head; instead, it inspires him to work even harder to achieve similar success to Jerry in football.
So far, so good.
Kamela has become a key player for Kick4Life since joining the club in 2017 from Maputsoe’s FC Galaxy and has cemented his place in the team.
Now the next step is to challenge for titles.
“I want to win trophies with Kick4Life. So far I haven’t achieved those, the only thing I have (won) is a bronze medal in the (LNIG) Top 8; it is a bronze but it is something. Some (other) achievements are finishing inside the top four or the top eight in the league. At the moment these are the achievements I have,” Kamela says.
“I want to win any cup with Kick4Life,” he adds.
“The achievements that I have so far are in my personal life. I am going to do my last year at school, so my achievements are more about life in general and not football.”
Kamela says he grew up looking up to Jerry who made his breakthrough playing for Leribe side Joy before sealing a big move south to Lioli in 2013.
While he admits they are both hard-workers, the younger Kamela believes he is a bit more talented and gifted than Jerry, although Khubetsoana insists he is not getting ahead of himself.
“It is still difficult even now being compared to someone you grew up looking up to. It is hard when someone says ‘your brother is better than you’, it is challenging and if you are not well prepared mentally it can be too much to handle,” Kamela says.
“People compare us because they say we have similar traits. We are both hard workers. I am not saying I don’t work hard but in terms of talent I think I am more gifted than him, but he works very hard. It is something like (Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo, Messi is more of a talent and Ronaldo is a hard worker,” he continues.
The brothers’ playing styles are also different.
Khubetsoana is more of a traditional skilful winger while Jerry has made a fruitful career out of being one of Lesotho’s most versatile players.
“I don’t compare myself to him even though people compare us,” Khubetsoana says.
“We are two different people, we have different styles and, to be honest, being compared to someone I grew up looking up to is not easy. I want to be like my brother, I want to achieve the things he achieved. He has achieved a lot; I don’t think I can compare myself to him, so when people compare us it is hard.
“Most people say I am better than him but I don’t take that as a compliment, I take it as something to push me even harder. Why are they saying I am better than him? Maybe it is because I am playing well or they like how I play. You can play (well) but he has won many things, so when it comes to that he is better than me because he has won things I have never won,” Khubetsoana says.
Leslie Notši is the coach that brought Kamela to Kick4Life back in 2017 and he credits the former Likuena boss for making him realise he needs to work hard to be successful in football.
Kamela opened up about his lack of game time when he first arrived at Kick4Life and how he won Notši’s affection.
“As a coach he developed something I never had which is hard work, I never used to work hard before at my previous clubs,” Kamela admits.
“I used to know that football is in my veins and brains; ‘don’t mark, just stand there, we will pass you the ball and you make sure it works for us’ and I used to do that very well, that is why teams were interested in me. Teams like Kick4Life, Matlama, Lioli (and) Bantu wanted me to sign with them,” he says.
Kamela says those early days at Kick4Life moulded his character and transformed his outlook on football.
“What ntate Les taught me is that you can’t just get everything how you want it in football, you have to develop character, have to feel the pain, have to work hard to earn something,” Kamela recalls.
“When I arrived at Kick4Life I didn’t have much game-time like I did before at my previous clubs because I felt I was good at football and people would ask me why I am not playing.
“What (Notši) said was that I have to work hard to get something. I used to train two times a day, at that time I wasn’t even going to school while he was still our coach. I used to go to Kick4Life in the morning and in the afternoon. I had to work hard and things just started happening for me, I started scoring goals (and) I started making the first 11,” he continues.
“With ntate Les everything just changed, he left something in me being the knowledge that I need to work hard. I have already been given the talent so if I combine it with hard work I can achieve more.”
Tlalane Phahla