When he started eyeing a professional career, Seluleko Mahlambi’s father told him that the reputation his brother had acquired over the years would always loom over him like a dark cloud.
Like his older brother, Phakamani Mahlambi, young Seluleko had spent the early part of his career under the watchful eye of their father, the one-time owner of Fighters Football Club and later Big Boys Football Club.
In the Mahlambi family, the word of their football-crazed father, who bequeathed his love for the beautiful game to his two sons, carries great weight. So, when the older Mahlambi spoke to Seluleko about the problems that were on the horizon, he did not take things lightly.
“My dad always warned me that my brother’s issues would affect me if I wanted to play football professionally,” Seluleko tells FARPost. “He prepared for this. But it’s difficult.”
The older Mahlambi’s diagnosis of the problems that his son would face was informed by what had come before. If you mention the name Mahlambi to any South African football fan, the first person that they would think of is Phakamani.
Very few players in the last decade of football in Mzansi have had the attention that Phakamani commanded in his pomp. As Bafana Bafana began its rise after a decade of mediocrity, Phakamani was considered one of the young men who would lead the national team out of the darkness into the light.
On the surface, Phakamani seemed to have everything. He had searing pace, trickery on the ball, and a knack for turning up with an eye-catching goal now and then. The stars, it seemed, were in alignment, and the sky was the limit for the young winger. Then it all went wrong.
‘I WANTED TO PLAY LIKE MY BROTHER’: SELULEKO MAHLAMBI
While his rise at first appeared to be a fairytale, it soon started to read like the script of a horror movie. It was a familiar story, a flick that football fans have watched play out over and over again through the years.
It is the tale of the young, bright talent with the world at his feet who seemingly falls for the trappings of fame, seduced by booze and partying. Phakamani, upon whose shoulders many hopes rested, became the typical diski king, derailed by the bright lights of fame and fortune at a young age.
As his own career began, Seluleko knew that the sins of his brother were lurking in the shadows, ready to visit him should he start to show signs of progress. This was difficult for a young man who had always idolised his brother.
“I started playing football at the age of 10,” he says. “My dad had a football club, and he’s the one who made us fall in love with the game. When Phaka went to the School of Excellence and later got an opportunity to play for Wits, I felt it was possible. There’s no game he played that I didn’t watch. I wanted to play like him. I supported him,” explains the 21-year-old winger.
WHY SELULEKO MAHLAMBI ALMOST QUIT FOOTBALL
Interestingly, Seluleko’s own career began with heartbreak and rejection. When Cape Town City FC decided to release him from their ranks, the young forward says he seriously thought about giving up on the game itself.
“I spent three years at AmaZulu FC. Afterwards, I joined Cape Town City. The decision for Cape Town City to let me go broke my heart. I almost quit football. I tried my luck at Chippa United and then at JDR Stars, but nothing seemed to work out,” adds Seluleko.
The man who eventually showed faith towards the young Mahlambi was TS Galaxy chairman Tim Sukazi. Gifted with an uncanny knack for sporting talent, Sukazi, a laywer-cum-football administrator, had always had his eye on Seluleko.
While he had closely monitored his progress at an earlier age, the young lad seemed to have slipped through his well-spread nets. When City released Seluleko, Sukazi, formerly a player agent, saw a fresh opportunity to pounce once again.
“He came through my scouting networks across the country,” Sukazi tells FARPost. “Those who work with me will tell you that more often than not, I follow [talented players]. It can be someone in a far-flung rural area. So, this makes me quite extensive. I became aware of him, and I was delayed when he went to AmaZulu, spent time in DDC, and never played in the senior team. He was deemed surplus to requirements, and I lost track, and when I woke up, he was down at Cape Town City. He couldn’t make the DDC team. Knowing what I know, I picked on that, and I brought him
to town.”
‘HE’S BETTER THAN HIS BROTHER’: TIM SUKAZI
In those early days at TS Galaxy, Seluleko was still firmly under Phakamani’s shadow, and Sukazi, who trusted his eye for talent, had to convince a few people at the club that the young winger was an equally brilliant but less recognised gem.
“When I brought him, I put him in the DDC,” explains Sukazi. “When I thought he was at a good level, I briefed the [senior team] coach about him. I told him he had a brother, and I told the coach I didn’t want him living in his brother’s shadow. His brother was quite good. I told the coach that big European clubs were interested in him. Benfica had tabled 1.6 million euros for him. Sundowns took him, and he didn’t have an impact. I said it’s amazing the brother is still fine by age and should be playing. I said, ‘But coach, the younger one, I strongly believe he is better than his brother. I said, rightly or wrongly, this is my belief.”
When he discovered that he would be joining their ranks, TS Galaxy coach Adnan Beganovic asked for clips of Phakamani, as he had heard that the two shared some similarities in playing style.
“I know that story [of the brother] from the beginning,” says Beganovic. “When he was introduced to me, I asked our analyst to send me some video clips of how his brother played. I saw his ability in one-on-one situations. He is fast, he attacked the space, and I think he [Seluleko] has some DNA from his brother. I think we can develop him to get to the top, too.”
THE DEBUT AGAINST ORLANDO PIRATES
As he progressed in the DDC, Sukazi, the one person who had an overwhelming belief in his talent, felt that Seluleko could make the step-up to senior football. When the moment finally came last season, the youngster received a baptism of fire. In his first match, he faced one of the form teams of the 24/25 season – José Riveiro’s Orlando Pirates.
“I said now is the time to prepare him for next season,” adds Sukazi. “It was on that basis that he was promoted to the first team. He got his debut against Orlando Pirates.”
Seluleko’s coach, Beganovic, vividly remembers that debut against the Buccaneers. Coming up against the Soweto giants, Beganovic felt his side could risk a roll of the dice, as there was “nothing to lose” against the Soweto giants. Throwing Seluleko into the fray against such a big opponent was an ideal audition, as it would truly test his temperament at the highest level, the Bosnian coach thought.
“I enjoyed how he plays and felt we could try him out in the senior team. I remember last season, before the last game against Pirates, I said OK, I want to give him a chance because we have nothing to lose. I wanted to see how he could handle pressure in such a big game. When you play against Pirates, it’s a big game, and then he played very well, and then you know, I say OK, he can stay with us and join preseason and then let’s see what could happen in the future.”
SELULEKO ENTERS HIS NAME INTO SOUTH AFRICAN FOOTBALL HISTORY
Early in the season, Seluleko etched his name into South African football history when he scored a remarkable goal just 36 seconds into the match against Betway Premiership newcomers, Orbit College at Dobsonville. This swift strike ranks among the 15 fastest goals in South African football history.
That quick-fire goal felt like an announcement of his arrival on the South African scene. It felt like a coming-of-age moment for a potential superstar of the future.
“But I feel we can get something out of him,” says Beganovic, as he tips the youngster to score 10 goals this season. At the time of publishing this article, the KZN-born winger was sitting on six goals.
With Seluleko seemingly on the cusp of what might turn out to be a career-defining season, he still cannot fully escape the shadow of his older brother. As stardom beckons, his brother has become a cautionary tale, with those overseeing his career using Phakamani as a lesson on how things can go wrong if he lets fame get to his head.
“I want to be careful with him, to explain to him what he doesn’t need to do with his career,” says the Galaxy coach. “But he has seen an example of how everything can go wrong and how your career can finish even before you start. If you want to stay longer in this job, you need to work hard every day. You need to forget nightclubs and have no friends to go out with. After 10:00, you need to rest, work hard, eat correctly, believe in your ability, and then I think you can reach exactly what you want.”
WHAT PHAKAMANI TOLD SELULEKO
While the world of football is seemingly fixated with comparing the two for now, Seluleko says that Phakamani has been his mentor in the background, giving him advice on how to avoid the same trappings that derailed his own career.
“Phakamani told me I need to take good care of myself and avoid the things that destroyed his career,” says Seluleko.
“It hurts me what happened to him, but I’ve got to take those things and use them as lessons for myself. We talk a lot, but we don’t stay together because I live at the clubhouse. But we’re constantly on the phone talking.”
While harbouring ambitions of turning out for either of the Soweto giants, Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, Seluleko’s ultimate ambition is to move overseas. Before that, however, he also wishes to realise his long-held ambition of one day stepping onto a football field with his brother.
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