Phakamani mahlambi debuted
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Time for Mahlambi to go from prospect to star player
Phakamani Mahlambi's premature return from Egyptian giants Al Ahly is both a blessing and a curse for the player, but he is undoubtedly a quality performer who can boost the chances of his club and country.
Mahlambi netted on his Mamelodi Sundowns debut against AmaZulu on Sunday, making a promising return from what must have felt at times like an exile in Egypt.
He was snapped up by Ahly from then South African league champions Bidvest Wits at the start of the last season, but was hardly used in Cairo, despite coming with a hefty price-tag of €1.3-million.
Before the end of his first year in North Africa he had put in a transfer request and been sent to train alone away from the rest of the Ahly squad.
So his return to South Africa is a blessing for the player, but the curse of South African players leaving the PSL for abroad and failing continues.
In 25 years those successes have been too few and far between, especially in the last decade. In fact, more latterly it is hard to even think of one.
The 21-year-old has been regarded as one of South Africa's top emerging talents, so his failure to adapt to what was ultimately a moderate step up is disappointing.
But it is also now a thing of the past and he must think onl
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Phakamani Mahlambi
South African footballer (born 1997)
Phakamani Lungisani Mahlambi (born 12 September 1997) is a South African professional soccer player.
Career
[edit]Bidvest Wits
[edit]Mahlambi started his professional career at Bidvest Wits. He made his debut for the side under manager Gavin Hunt during the 2014–15 season in a 2–1 win over Ajax Cape Town.[2] He became a regular for the Premier Soccer League scoring crucial goals for the side. He scored a brace against Platinum Stars in a 4–0 win. He continued his rich vein of form by scoring another goal against Chippa United.
In February 2016, Mahlambi suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in a 2–1 win over Maritzburg United. He was ruled out for 10 months and as a result missed the remainder of the season and the chance to represent South Africa at the 2016 Olympic Games.[3] Following the injury, Mahlambi required surgery to reattach the ligament in the knee. Doctors revealed that a strand from his hamstring would be removed to do so but indicated that such a procedure would likely have a negative effect his career. In order to avoid such a scenario, Mahlambi's brother, a trialist with Wits himself at the time, provided his own hamstring for the operation.[3] He made hi
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- Date of birth/Age: Sep 12, 1997 (27)
- Place bear witness birth: City, ...
- Citizenship: Southern Africa
- Height: 1,72 m
- Position: Virtuoso Winger