Nick Said, Special to ESPN 6y

Ligue 1 offers opportunity but little joy for South African stars

You can count on one hand the number of South African players plying their trade in Europe's top-five leagues, but even some of those few that have made it into the 'big-time' are battling for minutes on the pitch.

There are no South Africans in the top-flight in Spain, Italy and Germany, while only Andrew Surman, born in Johannesburg but very much English after turning down Bafana Bafana on numerous occasions, competes in the Premier League.

In France it is a different story with four players tied to Ligue 1 clubs, but only Bafana midfielder Bongani Zungu at lowly Amiens can say he is making the kind of impact he would have hoped for.

For Keagan Dolly (Montpellier), Lebogang Phiri (Guingamp) and especially Kermit Erasmus (Rennes) it has been a disappointing season that has not yielded satisfactory returns to date.

There was a time, for about a decade between 1995 and 2005, when South Africans were plentiful in Europe's big leagues.

Lucas Radebe, Mark Fish, Eric Tinkler and Shaun Bartlett were all fine performers in England, Bradley Carnell, Delron Buckley and Lance Davids in Germany, Tsepo Masilela and Nasief Morris in Spain, and Phil Masinga in Italy, to name just a few.

In fact, it was only really in France where players struggled to find clubs. Only French-raised Pierre Issa and Thabang Molefe who made any impact over the decade, with a young Katlego Mphela not cutting the mustard at Strasbourg.  

From South Africa's readmission to international football in 1992 which paved the way for more players to move to Europe, to 2015, there had only been four players from the country in Ligue 1.

That there are now four this season shows a breakthrough of sorts, but that three of those are not regulars, or have not featured at all, suggests it is something of a façade.

Zungu arrived at Amiens at the end of the last transfer window after an excellent second half of the previous season at Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal, helping them to fourth in the league. He has started six and made two sub appearances in the nine Ligue 1 games Amiens have played since his arrival, including a start on Friday in the 1-1 draw with Monaco that came just a day after he had arrived back from national team duty in Senegal.

Usually players are rested in such scenarios, but it is testament to the value in which he is held that he was thrown in for such an important game and by all accounts did well despite an early booking.

For the 25-year-old, playing regularly at Amiens is the chance to put himself in the shop window for bigger French clubs, or clubs from better leagues, to reach his dream of playing in the UEFA Champions League.

At the other end of the spectrum is Erasmus, who has only made one Ligue 1 start for the club since joining from Orlando Pirates in January 2015, a period of almost three years.

He had a loan spell at Lens last season and has also endured injury woes, but it is also palpably clear that he is not in the immediate first team plans of the club.

He had a breakthrough of sorts on Saturday when he featured for the club's B side, his first minutes for any club since May.

At the age of 27 he should be entering his prime, but it would appear that staying at Rennes will be a hindrance to that. Another loan spell in January looks the best option for him.

Phiri started in the first team at Guingamp but has since been dropped to the bench or out the team altogether.

He arrived from Danish side Brondby where he was a leading figure in the midfield despite his tender age having just turned 23.

For him it is perhaps a period of adjustment needed to a bigger league, but his absence from the squad at the weekend, seemingly simply not picked, is a worry.

After a promising start at Montpellier in the second half of last season, Dolly seems to have fallen out of favour somewhat and has made just a single Ligue 1 start in this campaign.

Much of the time he has been an unused substitute, or relegated to the reserves, though in fairness he has too been on and off the treatment table.

But he is a player who could be an important asset for Bafana, but is likely to see his development stunted, and his selection deferred, if he is not playing for his club most weeks.

He is no longer a youngster and will be 25 in January, which is not an age to be a bit-part player, no matter where you are plying your trade.

The Ligue 1 season will begin to take a heavy toll on the squads of the clubs with injuries and suspensions as we head through the winter months and that could well open up opportunities for those who are not getting the minutes they had hoped for.

That would be good for them and the country, because if they were playing regularly and putting in eye-catching performances, there is no doubt it would open doors for other South Africans, and that can only be good for the national cause.        

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