Shandre Campbell was in Club Brugge’s squad for their UEFA Champions League match against Aston Villa.
Andre Arendse knows what type of mindset it takes to play abroad, so it would make sense not to have any doubts when he says Shandre Campbell will make it big in Europe.
This belief has little to do with the fact that he worked with Campbell at SuperSport United. Of course, that counts a little, but his belief has more to do with the conversations he had with the youngster who featured on the bench Club Brugge’s UEFA Champions League last 16 tie against Aston Villa earlier this week.
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In a short space of time in Belgium, Campbell has made so much progress and it’s hard not to see him becoming one of the country’s most successful players in Europe.
After being loaned out by Brugge to their reserve side in the second tier, Club NXT, he was recalled to his parent club and recently made his first team debut in a league match against Sint-Truiden, as a substitute in the last five minutes.
That was followed up by being included in the matchday squad for the UEFA Champions League clash against Villa, finishing the game as an unused substitute.
Looking at the progress he has been making, it’s only a matter of time before he makes a Champions League appearance. That would make him join the likes of Benni McCarthy, Lucas Radebe, Steven Pienaar, Thulani Serero, Nasief Morris and Dino Ndlovu who have had the honour of playing in the competition.
If he keeps his feet on the ground, SuperSport assistant coach Arendse is convinced that the 19-year will go on to play in the biggest leagues in Europe.
“When Shandre was still the club, I would find myself having long conversations with him about his intentions, his dreams and how they were going for example. I knew that he was talented to get the opportunities and I wanted to understand to what extent those opportunities would look like. He was always clear in his mind that those opportunities were European-based opportunities. There was nowhere else he wanted to go in the PSL. For me, that shows a proper desire from a young player,” the former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper told media during a Nedbank Cup press conference a few days ago.
“When you leave your home country at the age Shandre was, you are not only leaving your teammates, but you are also leaving your family, particularly parents and siblings, and that can weigh heavily on your mental state. You are going to a foreign country, and the weather is cold, and you don’t know what the local people are like. Take it from me, when you go to a foreign country, you have to earn their respect and it’s not easy. So, your mental toughness comes into play and if you don’t have that about it, the only thing that weighs on your mind is when you can go back home. You can never have that in mind if you want to make it at the level Shandre wants to make it.
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Arendse continued: “So, I saw a proper mental toughness in him. He wanted it so badly and he is starting to get it. The biggest challenge for Shandre now is to grab hold of it and keep it. He has to embrace it and follow the dream, no matter how tough it gets. I’ve got no doubt in mind that he will do it. I think we are going to see Shandre on the biggest stages of world football for years to come because he has a clear and solid mindset on how it needs to be done.”
To ensure he still gets enough game time, Campbell still plays matches for Club NXT, as he did on Friday night. He scored as they beat RFC Seraing 3-2.
Could Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos be watching? Only time will tell.
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