Manyama the perfect choice for top award

It is hard to find anything to fault Lebogang Manyama for because the 26-year-old striker was simply amazing last season and therefore deserves Phakaaathi’s Player-ofthe-Year award.

Perhaps the only thing Manyama could have done was to score more goals than the 13 he banged in as he captained Cape Town City in their impressive run in the Absa Premiership.

Manyama was last night expected to make a clean sweep at the Premier Soccer League’s endof-season Awards. Manyama won the Phakaaathi gong by an overwhelming majority, with close to 500 readers choosing him ahead of Ramahlwe Mphahlele, Aubrey Ngoma, Tyson Hlatshwayo, Hlompho Kekana, Percy Tau, Jeremy Brockie and Thabang Monare.

In awards where readers vote, it is usually expected that a player from one of the so-called big teams wins due to the number of fans his team has, but Manyama bucked the trend.

Despite a season which could easily be the best in his seven years as a professional, he remains as humble as ever and he always credits the City team for his exploits. Having successfully lead City to the Telkom Knockout triumph and a third-place finish, Manyama deserves all the personal praise coming his way.

His exemplary leadership has set the benchmark for other players and if we produce more players as committed as he is, the future will indeed be bright for our football.