Mamelodi Sundowns’ mercurial striker, Peter Shalulile, has opened up about his recent struggles and the journey back to his goal-scoring best.
The Namibian international revealed the mental and physical challenges he faced, and how he overcame them to reclaim his groove again.
Shalulile scored nine times in 21 appearances for the serial DStv Premiership champions. He missed out on the Golden Boot award that was eventually won by Orlando Pirates‘ Tshegofatso Mabasa with 16 goals.
The 30-year-old gunman failed to surpass his 2022/23 goal record where he shared the top-scorer award with Cape Town City’s Khanyisa Mayo. They both scored 12 goals.
WHAT MAMELODI SUNDOWNS’ PETER SHALULILE SAID
Ahead of Saturday’s date with Pirates in the Nedbank Cup final, Shalulile is upbeat and confident of putting up a masterclass.
“As a striker, and as a person in life, you know that everything can’t happen in your favour. When things don’t go your way, it’s how you pick yourself that matters. They never gave up on me.
“But not everything always goes your way. There are always lessons, and I have learnt that I can’t do it alone and even at home, in our personal lives.
“My teammates and coach never gave up on me and all you need to do is to go back to the drawing board and eventually the breakthrough will come.
“And you see the form coming at the end of the season, which is not my plan but God’s plan. Knowing that there are good strikers at Orlando Pirates, it’s a good thing.
“It’s now competitive, we just don’t want the same person winning the same thing. We need to push and make sure we do it right.
“He [Tshegofatso Mabasa] is a good striker but the ball is round, we will see who takes the chances on the given day,” Shalulile said.
HOW SHALULILE DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM CRISTIANO RONALDO
The 30-year-old revealed how watching Cristiano Ronaldo has kept him motivated at the time of his dip in form.
In truth, he admits that the just-ended PSL season was not his best. As such he is focused on redeeming himself in the Nedbank Cup final.
“If you believe in yourself, if you know yourself that you are a good striker, those are things that make you not give up on yourself.
“We see it in Europe, the best, CR7, People thought he was done but he is breaking records. He is still believing in himself.
“Those are things that motivate me. I cannot give up especially knowing that there are people looking up to me.
“So that is why I don’t give up. If I do, then I will kill the generation that is behind me. Going to the Nations Cup was not easy, everyone expected me to do the best,” he added.
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