Njabulo Blom was sceptical about a move to Major League Soccer (MLS), but in his first season at St Louis City, he feels he made the right choice.
South African midfielder Njabulo Blom was one of the last pieces of the puzzle when the St Louis City squad was put together over the past year by compatriot Bradley Carnell.
The 23-year-old had six months left on his contract at Kaizer Chiefs and was adamant he wanted to move on. St Louis paid a bargain fee and are delighted with the purchase. Blom admits the league has surprised him.
“To be honest, I had doubts in my mind because I thought the style of football was not anything like back home. I know that the MLS is not rated among the best leagues in the world, but the standard of football is very good. It’s not what people think outside,” Blom told SoccerClub in St Louis.
Increasingly, this is no longer a retirement haven for marquee names – Lionel Messi excluded – but a league full of promising young players. More than $100 million has been spent by European clubs buying players from MLS clubs over the past two years and Blom hopes to form part of a future migration.
“But right now, for me, it is apart from the football, being away alone, learning new things in a new country and meeting new people,” he says.
Blom had wanted for a while to break away and find an opportunity to “grow as a young man”.
“Also, I wanted to be alone and be out of my comfort zone. I feel like when you know what you want in life, you will be able to take those risky decisions. I came here to learn. I didn’t come here to prove any points. I think when you come with that kind of mindset, it’s easy to adapt.”
But any transition has its bumps along the way. “Sometimes you come to training and miss your family, feel like you don’t want to train, you’re frustrated.
It’s not easy, but it’s part of what we do. It’s part of what we love to do.”
And adaption also depends a lot on the individual’s personality.
“Most of the time I come to training and then I go straight home because I’m more of an introvert. It’s not that I don’t like to be with other people, but I prefer my own space.
“But I know I must change that, be more extravert and spend more time with my teammates. That’s one of the comfort zones that I need to come out of, be more out there with the guys. I’m not perfect yet but I’m getting there, I’m improving day by day.”
BONGI THE GOAL MACHINE
Matching the newly arrived Lionel Messi goal for goal in the Leagues Cup competition this season has put Bafana Bafana striker Bongokuhle Hlongwane firmly on the map.
Messi was grabbing the headlines on his arrival at Inter Miami but as quickly as he was scoring for his new club, so the 23-year-old was matching him.
The month-long mid-season competition pitted clubs from Major League Soccer against teams from Liga MX in Mexico and saw Hlongwane net seven goals in four matches for Minnesota United. It marked his transformation from tentative starter to one of the more exciting products in the MLS.
Hlongwane moved from Maritzburg United at the start of last year and initially found life so far from home tough to adjust to.
But coach Adrian Heath, the former Everton and Manchester City attacker, could see the potential.
“If he can start putting goals and end product to the energy that he brings to the group, then we’ll have a serious player on our hands,” he said of Hlongwane, who now has 15 goals this season.
In his first year, Hlongwane played in 29 matches, scoring twice and recording four assists, but his numbers are much improved, as he has been making better runs, getting himself in more dangerous areas, and playing a more physical style than Loons fans saw last year.
