Puso Dithejane tipped to become one of South Africa’s best players

Puso Dithejane’s inclusion in Pitso Mosimane’s Bafana Bafana squad for the upcoming AFCON qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea has been welcomed by his former TS Galaxy coach Adnan Beganovic, who believes the 22-year-old can develop into one of South Africa’s leading players.

Beganovic worked with Dithejane at TS Galaxy before the attacker moved to the United States to join Chicago Fire. The coach has continued to follow his progress and said he remains in contact with the player.

He also recalled calling for Dithejane to be selected by Bafana Bafana before his move to Major League Soccer brought him greater attention.

“We have been in touch, even now. He sent me a message a couple of days ago,” Beganovic told the Siya crew.

“If you have time to check my interviews from before, when I spoke about him while he was at TS Galaxy, I said that this guy deserves a national team call-up. He is a real Bafana Bafana player.”

Beganovic described Dithejane as “a diamond” and said the player would benefit from continued support and careful development.

“We need to polish him, we need to work with him not only me, but all of us because he is the future of South African football,” he said.

Beganovic calls for patience

The coach believes Dithejane’s move to Chicago Fire required an adjustment period, just as the player had needed time to adapt when he moved from development football at Kaizer Chiefs into senior football at TS Galaxy.

“When he moved to Chicago Fire, I said he is young. He is a young boy, actually. He is still a child, and he needs time to adapt,” Beganovic said.

“Even when he came from the DDC at Kaizer Chiefs to us, he needed time to adapt and understand our football.”

Beganovic said Dithejane’s mental strength would help him settle into life and football in the United States, but stressed that the process could not be rushed.

“I know his mental strength and his mentality, so when he moved to the United States, he needed time to adapt himself to that environment and mentality. Then he will shine, 100%,” he said.

‘You can’t push him into the fire’

Beganovic urged those working with Dithejane to introduce him gradually rather than placing excessive demands on him immediately. He contrasted that approach with the way fellow Bafana prospect Mbekezeli Mbokazi can handle pressure.

“Slowly, slowly, it’s a process. You can’t push him like he is not a character like (Mbekezeli) Mbokazi. You can’t push him into the fire and expect him to survive,” he said.

“You need to bring him closer and closer, give him minutes, minutes, slowly but surely. Then, when he catches that rhythm and takes those steps with the other players, he can shine and show his amazing skills.”

Beganovic said he was not surprised that Mosimane had contacted Chicago Fire to release Dithejane for international duty.

“He is so young, and I think in the next 10 to 15 years he can play for Bafana Bafana because he has time,” he said.

“But I can promise you, he has the quality to be one of the best players South Africa has had.”