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en Cabango has come a long
way across the last eight
years of his young career.His story is a rare one in football as
the Swansea City Under-18s
defender started his journey with
local youth side Maindy Corries,
before joining Newport County’s
youth set-up at the age of 13.
Cabango did not let his late start in
the game halt his development as
the centre-back soon found himself
part of a Premier League academy
in Swansea.
“I was playing for Newport’s under-
15s in a friendly against Swansea,”
he recalls.
“It was only by chance that I was
spotted in that game. I must have
done something right because I
was invited for a six-week trial.
“Suddenly, I had gone from playing
local football at a park level to
playing for Swansea City’s
academy. I was delighted; it was a
bit of a dream.
“It meant a lot of travelling after
school to get here for training, but it
was worth it.”
Progression continued for Cabango
as he was offered a scholarship to
play for the under-18s in 2016.
But the defender admits his first
season at that level was not the
best, as he was limited to just 14
appearances across the 2016-17
campaign.
Patience was crucial as the 17-year-
old waited for his opportunity,
which arrived this season and has
seen him appear regularly in the
heart of defence so far.
And with fellow centre-backBrandon Cooper called on to join up
with the under-23s squad in recent
weeks, Cabango has stepped into
the breach to take on the captain’s
armband for the under-18s.
“To lead the team is a huge honour
and fantastic experience,” he says.
“I wasn’t expecting to be given the
chance to lead the side. I was
surprised when they gave it to me
but very proud at the same time.“I was told I was going to be
captain ahead of the Tottenham
game. I knew at that moment I
needed to step up and prove
myself.
“It has been great to have so much
game-time this season. It means
there is a bit more pressure on you.
There is no room for error. You
have to lead by example. Everyone
is expecting more from you.
“I am pleased that Brandon has
taken the step up in recent weeks. It
is good to see someone from our
age group progressing to the next
level and it shows players like
myself that it is possible.“I felt myself and Brandon formed a
good defensive partnership and I
hope we will play alongside each
other again at points this season.”
Cabango has helped the under-18s
to their best-ever start to a Premier
League South season, with the
young Swans already surpassing
their final points tally from last
term.
The tall centre-back admits the
team struggled to impose
themselves during the previous
campaign, but believes the
disappointment of finishing second
from bottom has built a better
squad mentality this year.
“Last season was a frustrating
one,” he says. “We felt we played
well at points, but really struggled
to get results.
“No-one wants to have another
season like that. We all knew we
needed to deliver much more this
season.
“We headed into this campaign with
a fantastic team spirit and positive
mind-set, and I think that is the
main reason why we are delivering
better results.
“We have had a dip in form in
recent weeks, but that has provided
a good chance for us to reorganise
and move forward.
“I am an aggressive centre-back in
my style of play and I think we need
to start showing that aggression in
our gameplay.
“It is not a nasty thing, but
sometimes you need to show
aggression in a game of football to
grind out results. We needed it
against Leicester and that is one of
the reasons why we lost.BEN CABANGO TALKS TO JACK MAGAZINE ABOUT THE PRESSURE OF BEING AN ACADEMY
PLAYER, AGGRESSION ON THE PITCH AND TAKING ON THE CAPTAIN’S ARMBAND.READY TO TAKE THE LEAD
BY JAMES SNAITHWE HEADED INTO
THIS CAMPAIGN WITH
A FANTASTIC TEAM
SPIRIT AND POSITIVE
MIND-SET, AND I
THINK THAT IS THE
MAIN REASON WHY
WE ARE DELIVERING
BETTER RESULTS