Lebo Mothiba

Lebo Mothiba

Mothiba in 2020
Personal information
Full name	Lebogang Mothiba [1]
Date of birth	(1996-01-28) 28 January 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Johannesburg, South Africa [1]
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) [2]
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Strasbourg
Number	12
Youth career
2007–2009	Mamelodi Sundowns
2010–2014	Diambars Academy
2014–2015	Lille
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2018	Lille B	32	(8)
2017–2018	Lille	17	(6)
2017–2018	→ Valenciennes (loan)	29	(10)
2018–	Strasbourg	88	(18)
2021–2022	Strasbourg B	2	(0)
2022	→ Troyes (loan)	14	(2)
International career‡
2015–2016	South Africa U23	2	(3)
2016	South Africa Olympic	2	(0)
2018–	South Africa	17	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:00, 1 June 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:00, 1 June 2024 (UTC)

Lebogang Mothiba (born 28 January 1996) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 club Strasbourg and the South Africa national team.

He made his professional debut in 2017 for Ligue 2 side Valenciennes, whilst on loan from Lille, before returning to his parent club the following year. There, he scored six goals in 17 appearances before transferring to fellow Ligue 1 side Strasbourg in August 2018 with whom he won the Coupe de la Ligue in his debut season.

Having previously represented South Africa at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Mothiba broke into the senior side in 2018 after which he became the first player to score in three consecutive matches for the nation from debut.

Club career

Early career

Mothiba spent his formative years on the books of local side Mamelodi Sundowns. He never progressed to the club's first team, however, and later joined Diambars academy in South Africa from whence he was signed by French side, Lille in 2014, shortly after his nineteenth birthday. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Lille

In July 2014, Mothiba signed for Ligue 1 side Lille on a three-year contract where he joined the club's under-19 side. ^[6] He spent the next two seasons with the club's youth and reserve sides before signing his first professional contract with the club, penning a three-year deal. ^[7] Midway through the 2016–17 campaign he joined Ligue 2 side Valenciennes on a two-year loan deal. ^[8] He scored two goals in nine appearances for the campaign which prompted Valenciennes to extend his loan for a further season. ^[8] Mothiba added a further eight goals in 20 appearances for the club before his form, coupled with Lille's domestic struggles, saw his parent club recall him mid-way through his second loan stint. ^[9] With Lille battling against the prospect of relegation, Mothiba returned to score five goals in 14 appearances, including a brace against Dijon on the final day of the season, to ensure that the club avoided the drop to Ligue 2. ^[10] Despite his form in the season prior, however, Mothiba was forced to leave Lille during the early stages of the 2018–19 campaign after the club ran into financial difficulties. ^[4]

Strasbourg

On 31 August 2018, the last day of the 2018 summer transfer window, and with Lille facing financial difficulties, Mothiba was sold to league rivals Strasbourg for a reported transfer fee of €4 million. The deal also involved a buyback option and a 50% sell-on clause for Lille. ^{[10] [11]} He scored his first goal for the club in his second appearance when he netted in the third minute of injury time to earn his side a point against Montpellier. ^[12] On 30 March, he started in Strasbourg's penalty shoot-out win over Guingamp to help the club lift the Coupe de la Ligue title. ^[13]

On 9 November 2019, on the occasion of his 50th appearance for Strasbourg, Mothiba ended a five-month goal drought with a brace in the club's 4–1 league win over Nîmes Olympique. ^[14]

On 27 January 2022, Mothiba joined Troyes on loan until the end of the season. ^[15]

On 31 May 2024, it was announced that Mothiba would not be extending his contract at Strasbourg. ^[16]

International career

Mothiba represented South Africa at the football competition of the 2016 Summer Olympics. In March 2018, he scored on his full debut during a Four Nations Tournament draw with Angola. ^[17] In October, during a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Seychelles, he became the first player to score in three consecutive matches for South Africa from debut. ^[3] His goal also contributed towards the nation recording its largest ever victory with the match ending 6–0 in favour of South Africa. ^[18]

Career statistics

Club

As of 1 June 2024 ^[1]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [lower-alpha 1]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lille B	2014–15	CFA	9	0	—		—		9	0
	2015–16	CFA 2	13	3	—		—		13	3
	2016–17	CFA	10	5	—		—		10	5
	Total		32	8	—		—		32	8
Lille	2016–17	Ligue 1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
	2017–18	Ligue 1	14	5	0	0	0	0	14	5
	2018–19	Ligue 1	3	1	0	0	0	0	3	1
	Total		17	6	1	0	0	0	18	6
Valenciennes (loan)	2016–17	Ligue 2	9	2	0	0	0	0	9	2
	2017–18	Ligue 2	20	8	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 2]	1	24	9
	Total		29	10	1	0	3	1	33	11
Strasbourg	2018–19	Ligue 1	32	9	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 2]	2	36	11
	2019–20	Ligue 1	21	3	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	23	3
	2020–21	Ligue 1	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2021–22	Ligue 1	1	0	1	0	—		2	0
	2022–23	Ligue 1	19	3	1	0	—		20	3
	2023–24	Ligue 1	15	3	0	0	—		15	3
	Total		88	18	3	0	2	0	96	20
Strasbourg B	2021–22	National 3	1	0	—		—		1	0
	2022–23	National 3	1	0	—		—		1	0
	Total		2	0	—		—		2	0
Troyes (loan)	2021–22	Ligue 1	13	2	—		—		13	2
Career total			181	44	5	0	8	3	194	47

International

As of match played 17 October 2023 ^[19]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
South Africa	2018	6	4
	2019	8 [lower-alpha 4]	0
	2023	3	0
Total		17	4

Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mothiba goal.

List of international goals scored by Lebo Mothiba ^[19]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	21 March 2018	Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia	Angola	1–1	1–1 (5–3 p)	2018 Four Nations Tournament
2	24 March 2018	Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia	Zambia	2–0	2–0	2018 Four Nations Tournament
3	13 October 2018	FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	Seychelles	3–0	6–0	2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4	17 November 2018	FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	Nigeria	1–1	1–1	2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Strasbourg

• Coupe de la Ligue: 2018–19 ^[13]

South Africa

• Four Nations Tournament: 2018 ^{[20] [21]}

Notes

1. Includes the Coupe de France
2. Appearances in the Coupe de la Ligue
3. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
4. The game against Ghana on 14 November 2019 is not taken into account due to the excessive amount of substitutes, which exceeded the standard set by FIFA for friendlies.

References

1. Lebo Mothiba at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
2. "Lebo Mothiba". RC Strasbourg Alsace. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
3. Molefe, Mazola (17 October 2018). "Lebo Mothiba is schooled in the art of scoring". Independent Online. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
4. Bairner, Rob (15 November 2018). "The French Connection: Lebo Mothiba - Strasbourg's smiling assassin". Goal. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
5. Strydom, Marc (28 March 2018). "Bafana find a raw diamond in tough Lebo Mothiba". BusinessDay Live. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
6. "Bafana Bafana striker Lebo Mothiba opens up about surprise Strasbourg switch". Kick Off. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
7. "Lebo Mothiba signe pro pour 3 ans" [Lebo Mothiba signs 3-year deal] (in French). Lille OSC. 13 July 2016. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
8. "Lebo Mothiba secures second loan spell with French side Valenciennes". Kick Off. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
9. Ndumo, Sandile (5 February 2018). "South African striker Mothiba grateful to Valenciennes for Lille return". Goal. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
10. "Bafana striker Lebo Mothiba leaves Lille for RC Strasbourg". Independent Online. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
11. "Bafana striker Lebo Mothiba joins Stasbourg from Lille". The South African. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
12. Appolis, Dylan (17 September 2018). "Saffas: Mothiba nets first Strasbourg goal". Four Four Two. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
13. "Mothiba's Strasbourg beat Guingamp on penalties to win French League Cup". The Citizen. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
14. Taiwo, Taiye (9 November 2019). "Mothiba ends five-month goal drought with brace as Strasbourg hammer Nimes". Goal. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
15. "LEBO MOTHIBA EST BLEU & BLANC !" (Press release) (in French). Troyes. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
16. "Official | Lebo Mothiba leaves Strasbourg". Get French Football News. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
17. Said, Nick (15 October 2018). "Lebo Mothiba created a piece of Bafana Bafana history for himself". Times Live. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
18. Molefe, Mazola (13 October 2018). "Bafana Bafana rock Seychelles in record victory". Independent Online. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
19. "Mothiba, Lebo". National Football Teams. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
20. "Southern African tournament, featuring four nations, to be held in Zambia". BBC Sport. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
21. "South Africa vs. Angola". soccerway.com. Soccerway. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2020.

External links

• Lebo Mothiba – French league stats at Ligue 1 – also available in French