It's a bit confusing for me

When PhakamaniMahlambi burstonto the scene as a teenager for Bidvest Wits four years ago, he was tipped for great things and many had expected that he would be playing his football abroad by now. After leaving the Clever Boys for Egyptian giants Al Ahly in 2017, things did not go so well for the speedy attacker, who returned to the Premier Soccer League after spending just one season in the North African country. He scored the goal that helped Mamelodi Sundowns win a ninth league title last season and had hoped he would carry on from where he left off when the 2019/20 got underway. Injury has kept him out in recent weeks, and just as he came back and hoping to fight his way back into the team, injury has struck once more. In this interview, the 22-year-old chats to Soccer Laduma’s Tshepang Mailwane about his career and hopes that he will one day have an opportunity to play in Europe and join the likes of Percy Tau and his U23 teammates Gift Links and Lyle Foster.

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Tshepang Mailwane: Phakamani, you returned from injury and were immediately called up to the national U23 team. It must have felt great! Phakamani Mahlambi:

It was a great feeling to be selected for the national team after being out for five weeks. For me, it was great.

TM: However, you unfortunately got injured in the TelkomKnockout quarterfinal tie against Chippa United over the weekend. This had led to you being withdrawn from the squad. We wish you a speedy recovery. So, how big was it for you that, even though you’d been injured, coach David Notoane had the confidence to call you up as the team prepared for the U23 Africa Cup of Nations starting this weekend?

PM: I think it starts with the whole technical team believing in me after being out for so long and knowing that we have a major tournament ahead of us and needing to prepare because we want to win the tournament. So, for me, it meant a lot that the coach called me up.

TM: How difficult were the five weeks that you were out injured, considering you finished last season on a high with a goal which won your club Mamelodi Sundowns the league title against Free State Stars?

PM: With the team that we have at Sundowns, it’s always difficult to get back into the starting line-up after getting an injury. So, yeah, I just worked harder to get back on my feet and get back to my fitness so that I could help the team to progress. I also wanted to do well for the national team so that we qualify for the Olympics. There’s a lot of people that I grew up with in this (U23) team. It’s people I grew up playing with, even in the U14 leagues, so I’m familiar with everyone. The guys have been to the U17 and U20 World Cups and it’s guys who’ve been playing well. So, it will be easy for them to gel and play to their best potential.