The Urban Warriors met the Brazilians in the Final of the 2014/15 Nedbank Cup in May, and were just one kick away from winning the trophy, yet succumbed to the pressure of spot-kicks as Pitso Mosimane’s men emerged victorious.
Norodien, who has impressed since making his Ajax debut late last season, insists his teammates are not thinking about that penalty shoot-out loss as they prepare for Saturday’s Cup Final against Amakhosi.
“I don’t think the players are thinking too much about that,” he tells snl24.com/kickoff. “We always say that we don’t want to go to penalties as we’re a team that want to play and win it in 90 minutes. If it goes to extra-time and penalties, we would be there.”
Thabiso Nkoana, Abbubaker Mobara and Franklin Cale were the Ajax players that failed to convert during that Final, yet Norodien says they are more than ready to step back up to the plate if need be.
“Even the players who missed like Mobara, he always says: “I will kick one again. Nothing will stop me from kicking.” Franklin Cale as well. It won’t stop the guys; everyone is human and you do miss – some of the biggest names like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo miss in important games for their clubs and countries,” the 20-year-old says.
“I think you should never stop what you can do, so I don’t think the players are thinking too much about the Nedbank – it’s gone, we lost but now we want to focus on winning the MTN8 Final.”
The talented speedster says he is more than willing to take a spot-kick if the game goes to penalties and he is still on the field.
“Definitely!” he confidently says when asked if he would take a penalty. “I’ve always said, ‘why do they take me off when it comes to penalties?’ I don’t understand it. I’ll be there, and I’ll kick one. I’m not scared.
“For me, the big crowd doesn’t matter – you have the ball at your side, you know what to do with your foot: hit it hard, pick a corner and put it into the back of the net.”
Ajax’s MTN8 Final against Chiefs kicks off at 3pm at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
-----------------------------------------------------------------