Against the tide of skepticism, Joel ‘Fire’ Masilela, a Mamelodi Sundowns legend and former youth coach, had to passionately advocate for Malibongwe Khoza, who had been dismissed as “lazy” by some at the age of 11.
Masilela was in charge of Sundowns’ Satellite Under-13 team when he, along with colleague Veli Hoogstander, oversaw the initiation of an assessment process to identify potential players for the then-upcoming season.
Among the young players vying for a spot was Khoza, a player who initially struck Masilela as “clumsy and slow”. In spite of this, he saw a spark of genuine talent beneath the surface.
“I said let’s give him an opportunity to grow. He was clumsy, slow, and very lazy. That was Mali,” said Masilela during an interview with FARPost.
“He had potential, even though he looked the way I was just explaining. But you could see he’s got potential. That’s one thing that kept my eye on him.
JOEL MASILELA EXPLAINS HOW HE SPOTTED KHOZA’S HIDDEN GEM
“He was still a baby. He still needed teachings in a lot of things, in training and he would then be a better player. I told Veli [Hoogstander] that, ‘look, we’re working with kids’. Some, when you looked at them, you could see, this one will never play football.
“But when you train him, working with him every day, you could see we’re making progress, he’s improving. So, he [Khoza] did the same.
“When he arrived, then I gave him a chance. Then I said, okay, let me register him.”
Unleashing and refining his talent was further complicated by his shyness, which often led him to isolate himself from teammates. Yet, Masilela emphasised that despite this introverted nature, Khoza remained remarkably coachable.
SUNDOWNS DEFENDER KHOZA DESCRIBED AS ’SHY AND QUIET’
“He was a bit shy and quiet, he was a very funny young chap. Sometimes, he liked to isolate himself,” Masilela explained. “He liked to sit alone there, not involved with other kids. And then, you know, you’d be surprised sometimes. What kind of a boy is he? He was so quiet.
“But when you put the ball there and start involving them to play together, he was the one who was running. He was good in playing the ball, even though he was a bit lazy. But you could see his potential. However, also, the other special thing about him, he was coachable.”
Masilela, upon his promotion to the Sundowns Academy, reveals that he facilitated Khoza’s transition from the Sundowns Satellite Under-13 team to the main academy program at the club.
He subsequently convinced the skeptical Head of Academy, Sam Mbatha, to retain the player.
CONVINCING SKEPTICAL SUNDOWNS HEAD OF ACADEMY
“I even told him [Veli Hoogstander], I said, look what a player he is, I’m telling you. You know, but he would look at me and then he laugh,” says Masilela.
“He said, do you like this? I said, ‘I’m telling you. He’s going far, bro. Watch the space.’
“And when I got promoted, going to the academy, I also mentioned his name [Khoza] that he needed to come and also have assessment so that he could be in the academy program so that in terms of the schooling, academy, he could play.
“I even spoke to coach Sam [Mbatha] because he was the head of academy. I said, ‘There’s a player, coach, we need to give him that position.
“He said, who’s that? I said, Malibongwe Khoza. He then said, ‘do you know this player?’ I said, ‘yeah, I coached him when I was in Mamelodi. I need that player to come here. He’s talented, he’s got something special’.
“But coach Sam also never believed me…No, he never believed me. Even when he saw him there when I invited him to come. He was doubtful. He said, ‘Ah but Fire angimboni kahle lomfana’ [loosely translated to ‘I’m not impressed with the boy’]. I said, ‘coach Sam, let’s leave him. Let’s give him one year, two years. Let’s see’.
“I had to convince even my colleagues, I said I’ll keep him, I’ll absorb him. I said, ‘Let’s put him in place. Let’s secure him; let’s not just let him go. There is something I saw here’.
“I really convinced them. The likes of coach Isaac Shai, Michael Manzini…And they did listen to me. They did have that hope in me.”
Acknowledged for his ability to play both as a defensive midfielder and center-back, Khoza’s versatility has been on display since his DStv Diski Challenge [DDC] days.
Masilela, recognising this potential, fostered Khoza’s development by deploying him across various positions, including defense, midfield, and attack.
ABILITY TO PLAY THREE POSITIONS
“Those two positions [centre-back and midfielder], he played them very well because of the structure, his body structure. He was a very tall boy, even at that young age,” he stated.
“He was taller than most of the other players. So, sometimes I’d play him as a centre-back when I see that I’m having challenges; sometimes I’d play him as a sitting midfielder.
“Sometimes, I played him as an attacker. Because he had a very good technique of shooting. His shooting technique was very, very good. But for me, he was the best as the sitting midfielder because he had a very good passing technique. He could play long shots. He also had a very good vision, very, very good vision.
“You know, he could look left, right, forward, backwards at the same time. So, he was very clever. Before he received the ball, he would look at where should I play the next pass. He always identified the space.”
Masilela expressed immense pride in witnessing the 20-year-old center-back’s ascent to the Sundowns senior team, a dream he had long envisioned.
He firmly believes that Khoza possesses the necessary attributes to embark on a successful European career.
‘I’M OVER THE MOON BECAUSE I KNEW’ – ‘FIRE’ ON SUNDOWNS’ KHOZA
“I’m very, very excited, I’m over the moon because I knew, I knew that if this boy can go through all these development structures, he can make it to the senior team and he can make it also in Europe,” he said with pleasure.
“It’s easy for him because the way he’s so talented, the way he behaves himself, the way he conducts himself in the game and also, there’s one thing about him, he has discipline. He was very, very good. That’s the most important thing about him.”
With former Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi having previously said Khoza will make the Bafana Bafana AFCON squad this year, the player’s agent Pontsho Madumo has explained why the young defender deserves a call-up.
AGENT SAYS KHOZA DESERVES BAFANA CALL-UP
“If you have been following Mali’s progress since he was at DDC, he has been a standout player,” said Madumo, speaking with FARPost.
“You can also see [he has a good] height, he is young, quick and can play the ball in the spaces.
“Manqoba saw the potential because he worked with him during the pre-season, and he saw how [Khoza] surpassed the expectations. I think that’s where Manqoba started believing that the boy will come and play.
“We can even attest to that because we can see he’s playing. He’s one for the future and deserves a call-up.”
Since his promotion to the first team this season, Khoza has made 24 appearances across all competitions, scoring one goal in the Nedbank Cup and one in the CAF Champions League.
With the team set to compete in the FIFA Club World Cup in the USA in June, the Mamelodi-born defender will have an opportunity to showcase his talent on the world stage.
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