Africa-Press – Lesotho. Lesotho international Lesia Thetsane’s career is growing in leaps and bounds in the United States after the defender led Ballard FC to two titles this season in their second tier of American football.
The 26-year-old initially left the country for a football and academic scholarship in 2016 at State Fair Community College, which was facilitated by Kick4Life, where he used to play his football.
Thetsane admitted that his ambition is to secure a move to the Major League Soccer (MSL) in the US and rub shoulders with the big boys such as Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, who recently joined Inter Miami.
“It’s been a good season; I think it was a very successful season. Last year was still successful, but we kind of fell short as we did not win any trophy despite making it to the play-offs,” Lesia said.
“This time around we made it to the play-offs and won our conference. After winning the conference, we went all the way to the national play-offs and won it.
“It’s a good feeling to enjoy this success as the captain of the team.
Credit goes to my teammates because they make me a better player, a disciplined player and a hard worker as I cannot let down my coaches since they know most of the players look up to me.
The defender, who last represented his country in the goalless draw against Ivory Coast in July last year during the qualifiers of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, stated that playing his football so far away from home has made him a better player.
“It’s not an easy job because sometimes we lose a game, but I have to lead by example and help the players get their groove back,” the former Makoanyane XI captain said.
“It’s definitely not easy but my team-mates make it easy for me, but it’s a good feeling to have won trophies with the team and credit to everyone at the club because they make life easy for all of us.
“It feels good to win trophies, and I win it for myself, family and country. It’s really a good feeling and I appreciate the fact that I get a chance to live and do what I love and make my parents and country proud,” he said.
Thetsane said his dream is to one day play in the MSL and is adamant it will come true soon as he received an invitation to train with Seattle Sounders last year.
“The ambition is to always be at the very highest level that I can, so yes, if I can play in the MSL, it’s an ambition that I’m working on right now,” Thetsane said.
Thetsane has won eight caps for the senior national team since graduating from the Under-20 team, Makoanyane XI, but has missed a lot of Likuena matches in recent years due to academic commitments.
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