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Olympics a chance for Foster to prove he's not overrated

Former youth mentor Palacios believes striker will silence critics

Sihle Ndebele Journalist
Lyle Foster. File photo.
Lyle Foster. File photo.
Image: Gallo Images

In 2019, budding striker Lyle Foster made a big move from Orlando Pirates to French League 1 side Monaco. However the youngster had been  struggling to reach his full potential in France.

As a striker, Foster has hit hard times, having last scored way back in December 2019, for  Belgian top-flight side Cercle Brugge when he was on loan from Monaco. It was the only goal he scored for Cercle after 18 appearances on loan from Monaco.

After 10 months with the Belgians, he returned to Monaco in June last year. Three months later, Monaco decided to sell the Pirates development graduate to Portuguese Premiership outfit Vitoria Guimaraes, where he’s played only five times to date. 

Despite his struggles at club level over the past two years, 20-year-old Foster still earned himself a slot in SA’s final Olympics squad. The difficulties the lad from Noordgesig, Soweto, has endured have left some convinced that he’s overrated.

One of Foster’s coaches during his days at Pirates youth structures, Augusto Palacios, believes that his protégée hasn’t been given a fair chance to prove himself in Europe.

“I coached this boy for 12 years… I know his potential. When you’re not playing regularly you’re bound to struggle like this. My point is that teams overseas haven’t been giving him a fair chance,’’ Palacios told Sowetan yesterday.

The 69-year-old retired youth coach has warned Foster’s critics that they’ll eat humble pie when the Olympics start in Tokyo from July 23- August 8. SA are pitted against hosts Japan, Mexico and France in Group A.

“Come the Olympics the boy will silence his critics. He knows this is the big stage where he must redeem himself. The only time he plays regularly is when he’s back with the junior national team and I am sure again he’ll excel,’’ noted Palacios.

Mandla Qhogi, another mentor who worked with Foster at Pirates youth ranks, concedes that Foster’s struggles in Europe remain a mystery even to him. 

“I am not sure why he’s struggling this much in Europe because when he was with us, even with the first team, he showed a lot of potential and you could see that he got that element of going places,’’ Qhogi said.

“It might be an issue of adaptation but again you can’t be still trying to adapt after two years… he should have been adapted long time ago. Nevertheless, I still believe he’ll reach his full potential because he’s still young.’’

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