He was unearthed by Santos, but never used to his full potential. His move to Supersport United brought him out of his shell into the limelight with his dazzling display of dribbling and his ability to outmanoeuvre defenders and score goals.
Coach Pitso Mosimane says we have not yet seen the best of 19-year-old Thando Mngomeni, the youngest player in the senior team. Mngomeni started playing football at the age of nine in Gugulethu, Cape Town. His skills were honed at the Santos youth development team and he broke into the senior team at an early age.Â
Brother Thabo Mngomeni, who now plays for Hellenic, encouraged him to play soccer. The young Mngomeni is in Pretoria doing the job he loves, playing soccer.
The youngster looks and plays like the famous Nigerian and Arsenal player Nkwanku Kanu. Watching him at close range during training at Pretoria Technikon you can see how seriously he wants to make it to the starting line-up of the first team.Â
Mosimane tells him what he wants to see done and Mngomeni obeys. During six-a-side training Mngomeni scores goals in a way that has already attracted attention in the Premier Soccer League, where he has five goals, and for the national under-20 and under-23 teams.
Mngomeni says he moved from Santos because he wanted to get away from Cape Town and face a bigger challenge playing for a big club. The player is learning all he can from his teammates and says that he was well received.Â
He stays with a family in Pretoria, which he says has kept him disciplined and away from trouble.
Mngomeni recently completed his matric and says he wants to pursue a career in marketing.
He was unavailable for five of his team’s game after being suspended when he failed to catch a flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg. That cost him a place in the African youth championships.
His club won only two games in his absence. They drew two and lost one, which cost them their top spot in the league table.Â
The Amajita squad in Burkina Faso felt his absence even more in the African youth championship, where they won only one match.Â
‘It was a great opportunity I missed, but I will not dwell on it,†Mngomeni said philosophically.
He helped the team qualify for the youth tournament by propelling his teammates to a 3-0 victory against Zambia, which had given them a 4-1 drubbing in Lusaka.Â
Mngomeni first represented his country in the African youth championship qualifier against Madagascar — and scored on his debut.
He played as a striker for the under-20 team, scoring goals in all the games he played at that level.Â
Mngomeni was then given a chance at the under-23 level and again scored on his debut. Now he appears to be knocking at Bafana Bafana’s door.Â
Mosimane says he signed Mngomeni for Supersport because of his technique, his age, the way he strikes the ball and his casual approach to the game. Now the coach wants to see the youngster’s passion on the field.Â
His only weakness is in defending.
Mosimane’s boys now have to play a catch-up game for points this weekend after failing to take the lead in the log table during last weekend’s game, which they drew 2-2.
On Sunday Supersport meet Moroka Swallows at the Rand Stadium. A win for Supersport could help them close the four-point gap opened by log leaders Orlando Pirates who defeated Bush Bucks 2-0 on Wednesday night.
Mosimane says: ‘Getting to the top is hard, but staying there is tougher.â€