Mamelodi Sundowns named unknown Cassius Mailula on the bench for their fixture against Stellenbosch FC at the Loftus Stadium in Pretoria, but who is he?
Mailula is a Sundowns academy graduate who primarily plays as an attacking midfielder. The 21-year-old, who hails from Limpopo in Ga-Molepo, joined the Sundowns academy in 2016.
This was after stellar performances at the Mandela Youth Challenge in Soweto, where he was named Player Of The Tournament. He also went home with the Golden Boot award.
“I joined Mamelodi Sundowns in 2016. When I was 15, I got scouted at a tournament in Soweto called the Nelson Mandela Youth Challenge, where I won player of the tournament and was the top goal scorer,” he told the Sundowns website.
He further explained how he ended up playing in midfield, also highlighting his love for banging in goals.
“I decided to play as an attacking midfielder when I was 10. I got inspired by the way Teko Modise played. I also loved playing as a striker simply because I loved scoring goals and hated seeing my team lose.”
Mailula will be thrilled to share the dressing room with Themba Zwane finally. He has previously indicated how much of an inspiration he is to him. He singled out ‘Mshishi’s work ethic and consistency as the elements that attracted him to the Sundowns talisman.
His utmost desire is to break into the Sundowns first team and eventually play in the CAF Champions League.
“… hopefully one day play in a CAF Champions League tournament and go as far as to win it.”
He is on record as saying he has learned a lot since his move to Sundowns, having to leave his ‘comfort zone’ at an early age. He believes those experiences will carry him over the next couple of years as he builds his career.
