"Pocketing Neymar was never my intention"- Mobara

By Athenkosi Tsotsi

Mobara and Neymar, photo from Reuters.

The 2016 Rio Olympics, for South Africa, was characterized by brilliant individual performance's from the likes of record-breaking Wayde van Niekerk, Caster Semenya and Luvo Manyonga; another standout performer from those games was Abbubaker Mobara during the opening game of the Olympics against Brazil.

In that hot afternoon in Brasilia, the then 22 year old right back was the coolest person on the field. Mobara provided a classical defensive display, textbook defending, he played like a player who had reached their pinnacle with no sign of letting up. Many Brazilians must have thought that their legendary fullback Carlos Alberto had been reincarnated, that performance was one that Cafu could be proud off.

The occasion was momentous, the opening game to the football Olympic games. The magnitude of the game was situated at the top with some of the biggest games in the world of football, well for the Brazilian public as it meant a lot to them, they probably were not paying much attention to the other events at the Olympics. They had their eye's fixed on the Olympic Gold medal that they missed all these years. The moment and pressure of being on the world stage did not cripple Mobara for one second, the man was carried by his nonchalant persona.

"It was a normal feeling, but at the same time it was overwhelming because I was not sure what to feel. I was not sure if I was feeling anxious, nervous or proud. But knowing that I was about to go head to head with one of the BEST international teams in the world, that just so happened to have one of the Best players in the world," said Mobara.

The Mane Garrincha Stadium, hosted the opening game between Brazil and South Africa, the stadium was packed to full capacity, 69, 389 people were in the crowd and plenty more outside the stadium, in the streets. The whole process of heading to the stadium and arriving to large sum of football fanatics is one Mobara has savoured.

"On arrival at the stadium the team sang as much as they could & as loud as they could to have a good atmosphere amongst us & to set aside the fear knowing that we about to go against the host (Brazil) as our first game.”

“I knew there was no turning back, there was no other feeling but a huge adrenaline going through my body. I felt the nervousness kick in because I knew it was going to happen there & then from that point there was no turning back, I knew what needed to be done so I made sure that I tried to keep focus & not let the nervousness affect me. But then I walked out onto the field & I saw the crowd & at that point I knew there no room for errors. This crowd could have easily flushed out my confidence but seeing how hyped up my teammates were made me feel some sought of relief."

No amount of practice could prepare one to face one of the most talented attacking unit the Olympics has seen. The front three bolstered with the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Barbosa and Neymar. Owen Da Gama prepared his team and defensive unit well, and Mobara can testify to that.

"Our preparation prior to the Olympics was done so well, that all Coach Owen needed to do was remind us what we needed to do as a team, is to win. He reminded us what our duties and responsibilities were as a team and as individuals; but also told us enjoy our game.”

“At the beginning of the preparations we already knew who we were going to face and who was in our group. I think Coach Owen Da Gama always reminded me who I was going up against and always challenged me aggressively because he knew the capabilities I had and I acknowledged what he was trying to bring across. I also  had a good amount of individual teammates that had that same skill sets as Neymar and with that made it a bit easier going forward into the Olympics."

Goosebumps were all over us, who were watching the game in South Africa. We were beaming with excitement and expectation as we were going to face Brazil for the second time in the Olympics and we genuinely believed we could beat them again, it was like we were facing our Olympic rivals. 

Well the emotions were different for the guys who were dawning the national team jersey on the field. "I was nervous throughout the game. From the moment we walked  into the tunnel seeing Neymar , seeing the whole Brazil team seeing how big, proud & confident they were made me feel more intimidated," explained Mobara.

"Lining up to start the game, walking out onto the field I knew that my faith was in one place. I asked God to guide me throughout the game and to help me make the proper decisions going forward. When I heard the whistle go off, it was game on and all thoughts aside and the one objective on my mind was to make myself and my country proud. I remembered at that point Coach David Kannemeyer telling me that my first pass is the most important pass, but this time round instead of a pass, it was the tackle. I had missed a tackle that blew my confidence and gave me an idea of what type of game I was about to have."

Throughout the match Mobara's side were under attack, that was were Brazil's attacking powers were, he would have many encounters with Neymar, eventually man marking and making some hard hitting tackles to stamp his authority on the match, keeping the then Barcelona man at bay and putting him in his pocket. 

"Pocketing Neymar was never my intention but I knew as a defender what I needed to do. I had to be patient , I had to watch his movement and at the same time I needed to watch the ball. At some point during the game I remember the referee telling me 'be patient and you’ll win the battle' so that’s exactly what I did. I did not acknowledge the fact that I had the upper hand because we were not in the lead but he still kept coming and I kept pushing. "

                              Team photo of the SA Under/23 national team

Mobara and his teammates grinded a hard fought draw, where their legs were wired as Brazil kept coming. Brazil after the match got off the field to a raw of boos while it was delight for South Africa. Faith and trust were the combination that pulled things together for Mobara.

"I still believe that at this point my faith was in one place and I definitely did not do it on my own, my teammates kept guiding me, kept pushing me and kept encouraging me. Seeing my captain and my teammates pushing, made me even more confident to keep my game at 100.”

“I did not even believe that happened. I did not know what to feel but I was proud. We were happy about the result but we also knew that we had more important games coming up that’s what kept us level headed.”

Playing at the Olympics is an opportunity afforded to only a few footballers. Mobara took his chance and shined at the one of the biggest stages of the sporting world, that's a moment he will cherish forever and many South Africans will remember him for many years to come because of that performance in Brasilia, the game he pocketed Neymar.

"It was one of my best and one of my biggest games I’ve ever experienced. Being part of the Olympics, I was more humbled by the experience than the exposure," concluded Mobara.