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Who are they?

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Today we focus on "Mogogi Gino Gabonamong"

Here is an interview on his journey till today as he announces his retirement from football:


“I started my primary schooling in Mahalapye, then I moved to Gaborone West where I was mostly brought up. I supported Rollers as a boy and Popa was the first team I wanted to play for. When I was a 15 year old I got to train with the Rollers first team at the club’s old ground next to the SSG in Maruapula. But I was made to run so hard during that Rollers practice session; the next day I did not turn up and Mogoditshane Fighters later recruited me,” he laughs.

Major David Bright recruited Gino to Fighters, a side that dominated domestic football in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“My time with Fighters was my most successful in terms of silverware; we were winning league titles and cup competitions; we had good players like Masego Nchingane, Barney Marman, Edwin Disang and others who formed the bulk of the Zebras squad,” Gabonamong says.

He broke into the national team as a teenager in 1999, playing in the 2-1 COSAFA Cup defeat to South Africa’s Bafana Bafana at the National Stadium- a match most remembered for Dipsy Selolwane’s “u turn” goal, on a rain soaked Saturday afternoon.

“I’d first played for the under 17 team under Michael ‘Spokes’ Gaborone and then progressed to the under 20 and under 23 teams while playing for senior squad. I got my first senior Zebras cap as a 16 year old,” he recalls.

Gabonamong had hoped to make it in Europe and had trials at Manchester United as an 18 year old.

“I went there with Edwin Disang; we were teenagers who lacked guidance, we had no agents, no mentors, just ambition. It was a good learning curve,” he says.

Gino also had a stint in Trinidad and Tobago with AA Caledonia.

“I was there with Kagiso Tshelametsi. Although it is a small Caribbean island we got to learn from playing in their league,” he says.

It was during this period that Gino was part of Jelusic Veselin’s Zebras side that reignited the interest of Batswana in their national team.

“Vasco (Veselin) came in from Angola and changed a lot things- the way we trained and the way we approached our games. We won some of our qualifying matches and Batswana really backed the team,” he recalls.

He fondly remembers two matches in the Germany 2006 World Cup qualifiers; a 2-1 win over Kenya, and a loss to a Tunisian side that had won the 2004 AFCON under French coach Roger Lemer; a team that had European based experience of the likes of Hatem Trabelsi.

“We beat Kenya 2-1; Dipsy (Selolwane) and Sox (Tshepiso Molwantwa) scored and I provided assists for both goals. Against Tunisia in June 2005 I scored in the first 15 minutes of the game to give the Zebras the lead. Although we ended up losing, I had one of my best games for the Zebras,” he recalls.

He says there was unity in the Zebras camp.

“We spent a lot of time in camp. We had characters like Ernest Amos who would eat a lot of food, and still pack some more to take to his room,” Gino laughs.

Gino joined Rollers and over 2005 and 2006 as part of a formidable team that included the likes of Tshepo ‘Schoolboy’ Molefe, Phenyo ‘Mzambiya’ Mongala, Moemedi ‘Jomo’ Moatlhaping, Thapelo ‘Pepe’ Balepi, Tshepiso ‘Sox’ Molwantwa and club legend Mmoni ‘States’ Segopolo among others.

“We had a very good team. After winning the league and Coca Cola Cup in 2005, we went on to do well in the CAF Confederations Cup. I scored the winning goals home and away against a Zambian side, and we also won against an Angolan side,” Gabonamong says.

His exploits attracted the interest of South African PSL side Santos.

“They came to watch me when the Zebras played Bafana Bafana in a COSAFA Cup match in 2006. We won over a penalty shootout and I was man of the match. Santos then signed me, and I joined Dipsy there,” Gabonamong says.

In South Africa, Gino would be made captain after just one full season with Santos and would spend 3 and a half seasons with the Cape Town outfit, before moving to Pretoria to join Supersport United and then to the Free State to play for Bloemfontein Celtic.

Over nine years in South Africa (2006-2015) he made 212 starts and 25 substitute appearances, a record for a Motswana in the PSL.

“I got to learn from playing alongside great players such as Muss Otieno at Santos and Anthony Laffour at Supersport,” he says.

Gino returned to Rollers in 2015. “Although I’ll always remember my time with Mogoditshane Fighters, Rollers was the team I supported as a boy and I am still a fan. I’d always wanted to return and end my career here,” he says.

At Rollers, Gino, who started his career as a centre back and was later converted into a midfield anchor role, was converted once more into central defence by Mark Harrison.

“I returned to a much more professional set up at Rollers, and I got to work mostly alongside Simisani Mathumo in central defence. I got to guide Simi, and thankfully he listened to my advice and has displayed growth as a player,” Gabonamong says.

A model professional, Gabonamong has focused on the game and off it has remained disciplined, raising two young children with his supportive South African wife Tumi.

“I intend to carry on with football matters, although I’ll no longer be a player, I’ll still continue to contribute to football. My advice to younger players is that there is no substitute to discipline and hard work. Your lifestyle should reflect the fact that you are a footballer, you need your body in good condition at all times. Young Batswana players should be ambitious; dream big about playing in Europe,” he says.

An absolute legend, Gabonamong will be sorely missed on the pitch.

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: The mighty zebras.. Who still remembers their names?

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It's choose day.. so today we choose the cabinet's top striker.. Phatsi! Ha o sa bona o jelwe!

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Congratulations Township Rollers for being crowned BTC Champions.

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