Football
Nick Said, Special to ESPN 6y

Dolly eager to help young stars make European move

Keagan Dolly has hailed his time at French Ligue 1 side Montpellier, and has vowed to help more young South Afrcan players make a career in Europe.

Dolly moved to France in January 2017 and, after initially struggling to break through in France as he adjusted to the pace and style of the game, has now become more of a regular as he looks to help the side push for UEFA Europa League qualification.

"When I moved to France I expected things to be this way; I knew I wouldn't just walk into the team," Dolly said. "The language is different, the way they live is different, the style of football they play is different.

"I just needed a few months and a few games to get into the swing of things and once I got used to everything, things started changing for me.

"I didn't play as much as I wanted to in the first half of the season, but I think when we got back after the December break I started getting more opportunities to play. I think I did well."

Dolly says that the intensity of the game in Europe is a major difference to the South African Premier Soccer League, and that players need to show their highest level at all times.

"The intensity is much higher. It starts at training, even with the warm-ups, everyone is serious. I started taking things more seriously," he said.

"I think also with my style of play and the way I think on the field, there is not much space [on the pitch], you need to know what to do with the ball before you even get it. "My decision-making is much better now and my understanding of the game. I am better going forward, I'm making better runs, and have better tactical awareness."

Dolly says he is keen to impart what he has learnt on the younger players in the national team, all of who he feels have the potential to play abroad.

"It hasn't been easy, but I am still working hard and I know what I want to achieve. I am not going to stop working hard towards achieving that.

"I can only continue to grow in Europe and when I come back now I can share my experiences with the likes of [Siphesihle] Ndlovu and [Teboho] Mokoena, guys that have ambitions to go overseas. I want to do that.

"It's good to share my experiences with them and tell them how life is in Europe. Just to motivate them and try to help them more, to show them that there is more to life than just the PSL."

Dolly sat out Bafana Bafana's penalty shoot-out victory over Angola in the Four Nations tournament on Wednesday, but along with the likes of Kamohelo Mokotjo and Itumeleng Khune, is likely to feature in the final against hosts Zambia on Saturday.

"It's a good squad, a balance between experienced players and youngsters, and it's always good to see the youngsters that are doing well in the PSL getting the chance to play for our national team.

"We played well [against Angola], we dominated the game, we just made a few silly mistakes, one with the goal they scored, it as our mistake, and I think if we took the chances that we created throughout the game, it would have been a different story.

"There are a few new faces that played, they did well, it didn't take long to gel with the experienced players."

Dolly adds he is expecting a lively atmosphere in Ndola for the final.

"I know the atmosphere at that field because I played there before with [Mamelodi] Sundowns. I know what kind of crowd they get. It's not going to be easy; never easy playing in Africa against the home nation.

"We are building to a new vision, we have set goals and working hard towards achieving those goals. Winning this tournament would give us the confidence we need for when we play the important games, the Afcon qualifiers."

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