Sundowns’ warrior Modiba happy to go to battle in midfield for Mngqithi

Aubrey Modiba has been a player who has made his name with versatility and says he is comfortable if coach Manqoba Mngqithi persists with him in Mamelodi Sundowns' midfield. 

Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations bronze medal-winning left-back Modiba played alongside Marcello Alende in Downs' central midfield in their season-opener on August 11, a somewhat muted 1-0 MTN8 quarterfinal win against Polokwane City at Lucas Moripe Stadium. 

As the South African domestic season gets off to a stuttering start, Downs will look for a more convincing display when they meet Steve Barker's dangerous Stellenbosch FC in the semifinals at Lucas Moripe on Wednesday and Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday. 

Modiba pointed out that if Mngqithi, finally getting a crack at Downs' head coaching role in a sole capacity after being a long-time technical staff servant, wants the former SuperSport player in midfield, he knows how to adapt to various roles. A warrior for club and country, he often plays as a winger and has also played in the middle of the park.  

“I'm familiar with the role. If you check, in our games in the AFL [African Football League] last season I played that role,” Modiba said at a media day before the MTN8 semis on Monday. 

“As an inverted full-back I used to overload in the midfield so it's a role I'm familiar with and I think I've done well there in some of the games. 

“The coach feels I can help the team in that role. I'm prepared and learning every day about it and hopefully I can help the team there. I'm enjoying the role.” 

Much of what Modiba will be asked to do in midfield he already fulfilled playing as an inverted fullback for the past two seasons under Mngqithi's predecessor and previous co-coach Rulani Mokwena. 

Inverted fullbacks overlap with the ball but spend much of the game when their team does not have possession coming inside, in front of the defence, to pack the midfield. 

When Mokwena first introduced the system at Downs Modiba took time to adjust to it and there was a period where the club's supporters, not always understanding the role, got on his back. 

“Credit must go to the technical team because they made me believe in the new philosophy as something that was going to help the team. 

“We try to get it right because sometimes we are not comfortable with changes in life. 

“So when that change came and the coach said, 'We are going to play like this, this season', we were like, 'OK, how is this going to work out?' 

“Some games when we started it was a bit difficult because I didn't understand the role. But they [Downs' coaches] showed me how we do it and why we were doing it and I had to believe in that project because if I didn't we were not going to change. 

“I started playing more games and understanding the role; with more research, more videos, watching games, [watching] who was playing the same way and learning from that. The confidence the coaches gave me to believe in it [helped] because criticism can sometimes break you. 

“I was strong mentally to be able to take that and also do some introspection to say, 'Probably they [the fans] have a point'. It's a big team so you have to do well in every game because the supporters are watching'. 

“I had to make sure I tried to perfect that and the confidence from everyone around really helped.”