Lebo Mothiba

Lebogang Mothiba (born 28 January 1996) is a South African professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 side Strasbourg and the South African national team.

Lebo Mothiba
Mothiba in 2020
Personal information
Full name Lebogang Mothiba[1]
Date of birth (1996-01-28) 28 January 1996
Place of birth Johannesburg, South Africa[1]
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Strasbourg
Number 12
Youth career
2007–2009 Mamelodi Sundowns
2009–2010 Kempton Park
2010–2015 Lille
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Lille B 32 (8)
2017–2018 Lille 17 (6)
2017–2018 → Valenciennes (loan) 29 (10)
2018– Strasbourg 53 (12)
National team‡
2016 South Africa Olympic 2 (0)
2018– South Africa 14[lower-alpha 1] (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 February 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2019

He made his professional debut in 2017 for Ligue 2 side Valenciennes, whilst on loan from Lille, before returning to his parent club the following year. There, he scored six goals in 17 appearances before transferring to fellow Ligue 1 side Strasbourg in August 2018 with whom he won the Coupe de la Ligue in his debut season.

Having previously represented South Africa at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Mothiba broke into the senior side in 2018 after which he became the first player to score in three consecutive matches for the nation from debut.

Club career

Early career

Mothiba spent his formative years on the books of local side Mamelodi Sundowns. He never progressed to the club's first team, however, and later joined Diambars academy in South Africa from whence he was signed by French side, Lille in 2014, shortly after his nineteenth birthday.[2][3][4]

Lille

In July 2014, Mothiba signed for Ligue 1 side Lille on a three-year contract where he joined the club's under-19 side.[5] He spent the next two seasons with the club's youth and reserve sides before signing his first professional contract with the club, penning a three-year deal.[6] Midway through the 2016–17 campaign he joined Ligue 2 side Valenciennes on a two-year loan deal.[7] He scored two goals in nine appearances for the campaign which prompted Valenciennes to extend his loan for a further season.[7] Mothiba added a further eight goals in 20 appearances for the club before his form, coupled with Lille's domestic struggles, saw his parent club recall him mid-way through his second loan stint.[8] With Lille battling against the prospect of relegation, Mothiba returned to score five goals in 14 appearances, including a brace against Dijon on the final day of the season, to ensure that the club avoided the drop to Ligue 2.[9] Despite his form in the season prior, however, Mothiba was forced to leave Lille during the early stages of the 2018–19 campaign after the club ran into financial difficulties.[3]

Strasbourg

On 31 August 2018, the last day of the 2018 summer transfer window, and with Lille facing financial difficulties, Mothiba was sold to league rivals Starsbourg for a reported transfer fee of €4 million. The deal also involved a buyback option and a 50% sell-on clause for Lille.[9][10] He scored his first goal for the club in his second appearance when he netted in the third minute of injury time to earn his side a point against Montpellier.[11] On 30 March, he started in Strasbourg's penalty shoot-out win over Guingamp to help the club lift the Coupe de la Ligue title.[12]

On 9 November 2019, on the occasion of his 50th appearance for Strasbourg, Mothiba ended a five-month goal drought with a brace in the club's 4–1 league win over Nîmes Olympique.[13]

International career

Mothiba represented South Africa at the football competition of the 2016 Summer Olympics. In March 2018, he scored on his full debut during a Four Nations Tournament draw with Angola.[14] In October, during a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Seychelles, he became the first player to score in three consecutive matches for South Africa from debut.[2] His goal also contributed towards the nation recording its largest ever victory with the match ending 6–0 in favour of South Africa.[15] Fans sing, "Mothiba, the South African Oaf" from the terraces, in response to Mo Salah being known as "The Egyptian King" by Egypt fans.

Career statistics

Club
As of 9 November 2019[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup1 League Cup2 Continental3 Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lille 2016–17 Ligue 1 0010000010
2017–18 Ligue 1 145000000145
2018–19 Ligue 1 3100004031
Total 176100000186
Valenciennes (loan) 2016–17 Ligue 2 9200000092
2017–18 Ligue 2 208103100249
Total 29101031003311
Strasbourg 2018–19 Ligue 1 35101032003912
2019–20 Ligue 1 122000020142
Total 47121032205314
Career total 932830632010431

1 Includes Coupe de France matches.
2 Includes Coupe de la Ligue matches.
3 Includes UEFA Europa League matches.

International
As of 17 November 2019[16]
National teamYearAppsGoals
South Africa 201864
201980
Total144

International goals
Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first.[16]
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.21 March 2018Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia Angola1–11–1 (5–3 p)2018 Four Nations Tournament
2.24 March 2018Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia Zambia2–02–02018 Four Nations Tournament
3.13 October 2018FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Seychelles3–06–02019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4.17 November 2018FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Nigeria1–11–12019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Club

Strasbourg

South Africa

References
  1. The game against Ghana (2019) is not taken into count due to the excessive number of substitutes which exceeds the standard set by FIFA for friendlies.
  1. Lebo Mothiba at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  2. Molefe, Mazola (17 October 2018). "Lebo Mothiba is schooled in the art of scoring". Independent Online. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  3. Bairner, Rob (15 November 2018). "The French Connection: Lebo Mothiba - Strasbourg's smiling assassin". Goal. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  4. Strydom, Marc (28 March 2018). "Bafana find a raw diamond in tough Lebo Mothiba". BusinessDay Live. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  5. "Bafana Bafana striker Lebo Mothiba opens up about surprise Strasbourg switch". Kick Off. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  6. "Lebo Mothiba signe pro pour 3 ans" [Lebo Mothiba signs 3-year deal] (in French). Lille OSC. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  7. "Lebo Mothiba secures second loan spell with French side Valenciennes". Kick Off. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  8. Ndumo, Sandile (5 February 2018). "South African striker Mothiba grateful to Valenciennes for Lille return". Goal. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  9. "Bafana striker Lebo Mothiba leaves Lille for RC Strasbourg". Independent Online. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  10. "Bafana striker Lebo Mothiba joins Stasbourg from Lille". The South African. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  11. Appolis, Dylan (17 September 2018). "Saffas: Mothiba nets first Strasbourg goal". Four Four Two. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  12. "Mothiba's Strasbourg beat Guingamp on penalties to win French League Cup". The Citizen. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  13. Taiwo, Taiye (9 November 2019). "Mothiba ends five-month goal drought with brace as Strasbourg hammer Nimes". Goal. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  14. Said, Nick (15 October 2018). "Lebo Mothiba created a piece of Bafana Bafana history for himself". Times Live. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  15. Molefe, Mazola (13 October 2018). "Bafana Bafana rock Seychelles in record victory". Independent Online. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  16. "Mothiba, Lebo". National Football Teams. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  17. "Southern African tournament, featuring four nations, to be held in Zambia". BBC Sport. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  18. "South Africa vs. Angola". soccerway.com. Soccerway. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
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