Who is Keletso Makgalwa

Matlala Keletso Makgalwa is the new rising star of Mamelodi Sundowns. He was born on 3rd of January 1997 in Mokopane, Limpopo, South Africa in the Moshate Village. His height is approximately 1.7 meters. Similar to that of players he is compared to Aguero - 1.73 meters and Lionel Messi - 1.7 meters. Sundowns supporters and previous coach Pitso believe he can be the next Percy Tau since he has received almost similar grooming to the Bafana Bafana star at Sundowns.

He was discovered at the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup 2015, everyone could see his talent!

His favorite position is left-wing but he can play right-wing or striker positions. His is ambipedal judging from goals he has scored which is a great attribute for any football player but his stronger or preferred kicking foot is the right foot. Keletso Makgalwa is armed with blistering pace, skills, and goal scoring ability.

Keletso is given the nickname "Aguero" or "Messi" because of similar stature and play but mostly for goal scoring ability by the Amasandawana supporters. But the most used nickname is "Aguero" maybe because they are both predominantly right footed and love cutting in from the left-wing and curling the ball into the top right corner.

Other nicknames of Keletso Makgalwa given to him by Sundowns supporters: SikaMareiza, Keke, Bullet, Lepathi, Poison, and "Mlume Boby"!


The Sandawana star currently wears jersey number 26 for Sundowns and for Amajita he has been seen wearing jersey numbers 7 and 19 but there's no doubt his favorite jersey number is 10. At Sundowns the number 10 jersey is currently being owned by Uruguayan footballer star, Sirino

At the age of only 22, he has already had a blistering start from South African standards. In South Africa, soccer players progress in their careers much later in life than 22 years. Below is a track record of what the youngster has been doing since he was promoted to the Sundown Reserve team playing in the MDC in 2017.


Awards

2020 - Nedbank Most Promising Young Player
2017 - Multichoice Diski Most promising find

2020-21 Mamelodi Sundowns 

In the Dstv Premier Soccer League, Keletso has had to adapt to new life without his mentor Pitso Mosimana; who has left Sundowns to coach Al Ahly. In 3 games played in the league, Keletso has scored 1 goal and has made 2 substitute apearances. 

2019-20 - Makgalwa helps Sundowns win the league

In the 2019-20 season, Keletso has managed to score 4 goals and assist in 1 goal in as little as 16 games played. In the Nedbank cup, the young star scored 2 goals in 5 games played. In 2020, Keltso Makgalwa won the award for Nedbank Cup most promising young player. 

We have all seen his celebration with Pitso which means that in the years to come the diminutive striker will play a large role. He is also part of the South Africa U23 squared which will be heading to the Olympics in Japan.

2019 - Signs Contract With Sundowns First Team

In 2019, Keletso signed a 5 year contract with Mamelodi Sundowns that could see him stay at the club until 2024. The departure of left winger George Lebese has strengthened his place at the Mamelodi Sundowns

Keletso has had blistering start to his Mamelodi Sundowns senior team, after scoring and assisting a goal in the MTN 8 cup game against Bloemfontein Celtic. "Aguero" changed the game when he was brought in by Pitso Mosimane when the scores were level. After he scored he celebrate the goal by jumping into his hands of his coach - A clear display of a healthy relationship between Pitso and Keletso! A good relationship between player and coach is a clear symbol of a prosperous career.

On the 20th of August 2019, Makgalwa obtained an ankle injury in the game against Cape Town City which will take him out of action for 3 - 6 months.

2018 - First Debut And Loan Spell at Maritzburg United

In 2018, he was loaned to Maritzburg United FC in a deal that saw talented Maboe move to Chloorkop. The diminutive left winger played a total of 4 games and scored once from his time spent at Maritzburg.

The loan at Maritzburg United was meant to propel the youngster career in Premier Soccer League (PSL) football and give him much needed experience to be able to compete for a spot at Mamelodi Sundowns. Just like the move for Percy Tau to Witbank Spurs had done for him.

2016/17 - MDC Winner

In the 2016-17 season the Sandawana team dominated MDC and were deserving winners of the exciting cup for the first time. Keletso did very well in the Multi Choice Diski Challange were he recieved an award for "Most Precious Find". He played 14 games, scored 8 goals and assisted in 12 goals.

In 2017, He attended the u20 FIA World Cup in Korea Republic. In the u20 World cup he started one game against Japan and came on as a second half substitute against Italy and Uruguay. The tournament was a dispointment for Amajita after winning just 1 point from 3 games but much needed experience was gained by Makgalwa. Amajita performance was not a shock for SA since only the 2009 team made it out of the World Cup group stages, to the Round 16 the highest finish for Amajita.

Is Keletso Makgalwa the next Percy Tau for Sundowns and Bafana Bafana? Please leave your comments below.

Read More

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Son Heung-Min wins EPL October Player of the month award

Top 5 Greatest Long Passers of the ball: Dunga, Alonso, Pirlo, Scoles and Veron

Paul Rothmans Cup Dolezar one of the best foreign coaches to coach in SA