Mlondi Dlamini: a special talent that was taken far too soon

The man who helped discover Maritzburg United midfielder Mlondi Dlamini (right) has paid tribute to a special talent, after the 20-year-old died tragically in a car accident on Sunday.

The accident happened on the N3 northbound near Cato Ridge as Dlamini and two friends were on their way from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.

Xolani Madlala, who worked for Umngungundlovu Academy of Sports when Dlamini played there, said the player was nicknamed “Vicks”, after the famed medical ointment.

“We named him that because he had a special ability to unlock any defence and create room for your team to play,” said Madlala.

“He joined our academy when he was young. He started playing in the SAB Leagues when he was 13 or 14. When the late Ted Dumitru saw him, he advised us to take special care of him because he was amazed by his talents.”

So special was Dlamini’s ability that a stranger once gave him R100 just to thank him. The academy had played a friendly match in Mooi River and Dlamini was at his best, dribbling and eliminating opponents with relative ease.

“I remember one time we played a friendly in Mooi River and some rich guy got out of his Mercedes when he saw him walk past after the match and gave him R100 and said it had been a long time since he had seen such a player. He said he reminded him of the likes of (the late) “Ace” Ntsolengoe,” said Madlala.

Dlamini was born on August 3, 1997 and raised in the small dusty township of Mpophomeni just outside Howick.

In 2015, he was named Player-of-the-Tournament in the Kay Motsepe Schools Tournament where he played for Pietermaritzburg’s Sukuma High School. He joined Maritzburg’s development academy afterwards and graduated to the senior team a year later.

He was one of the nominees for the MultiChoice Diski Challenge Player-of-the-Season but lost out to Mamelodi Sundowns’ Keletso Makgalwa.

“The saddest thing is that he lost his mother at around this time last year. The last time I spoke to him he was so excited because he had started training again (he had picked up a calf injury ahead of the new season) and there is nothing he enjoyed more than playing – he hated losing,” said Madlala.