The past few months have been a blast for emerging Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Samkelo Zwane.

Zwane, who is part of the SA Under-23s for their crucial Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against Congo-Brazzaville at Dobsonville Stadium on Thursday, made his debut for Amakhosi this season. 

The 21-year-old went on to make six appearances in the DStv Premiership and one in the Nedbank Cup but he fell down the pecking order due to the return to form of Siyethemba Sithebe. 

Asked to reflect on his breakthrough season at Naturena, the son of legendary former Jomo Cosmos, Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United midfielder Eugene, Zwane said everything happened fast for him. 

“I can’t even start to explain what happened this season in words, it has just been unbelievable and everything happened so fast,” he said at Dobsonville Stadium where the SA U23 squad put final touches to their preparations for the match against Congo-Brazzaville. 

“I'm humbled and grateful for the opportunity to play professional football. So far it is going well but there is always room for improvement because you can always go to greater heights and you can never be settled.” 

After some matches, the young midfielder came under scrutiny from supporters and he has learned to toughen up and take criticism. 

“Fortunately for me, I was in the development structures of Kaizer Chiefs and we know about pressure of playing for this club. Coach Arthur Zwane has also explained to us that if you want to play for a big team, you must be able to handle pressure,” he said, adding that criticism used to get to him. 

“Maybe at the start (I felt pressure) but I told myself that I must deal with it because there was nothing I can do. I also speak to my dad and he always tells me to face it like a man because you can’t run or hide.” 

One of the things he has had to live with is constant comparison with his father. 

“To be honest, I don’t really feel the pressure of being compared to my father because he played in a different position from me and we are two different players.  

“I am just excited that I am able to play football at a top league in South Africa. He retired before I was born but I have seen him play in those legends games.” 

As he waits for a consistent opportunity, Zwane is like a sponge and is soaking up information to improve himself. 

“What you can expect from me is to always take instructions from the coaches, give my best in every training session and game that I play so that I can reach my potential and go as far as I can go.” 

With regards to his style of play, Zwane said he is a deep-lying playmaker who was influenced by former Chiefs and Bafana Bafana midfielder Reneilwe “Yeye” Letsholonyane. 

“I would say I am more of a deep-lying playmaker, my strength is to help the team play and distribute ball to my teammates. Andrés Iniesta, Xavi, Thiago Alcântara and Andrea Pirlo towards the end of his career [are among my influences]. 

“Locally, it is Reneilwe Letsholonyane for sure and he actually coached me at Chiefs when he was doing his coaching badges. He was helping with the development team and he gave us good tips. 

“He emphasised to me that I must always be on the move as a midfielder, always know what is happening around me and to create options for my teammates.” 

Looking ahead to the Afcon qualifier against Congo-Brazzaville, Zwane said they are going for a win at home. 

“I am excited, everyone understands their roles, we spend enough time together at camp and I think it is going to be a good game to play against Congo-Brazzaville, and hopefully we will qualify for Afcon. 

“I am very excited, there are a lot of quality players in the Under-23 team and we can all learn stuff from each other, grow as football players at training and in a game and talking to each other about football. I think it is a great experience for me as a player.”