Maema has no regrets he followed his own advice

A common question every footballer asks themselves before joining Mamelodi Sundowns is whether they are good enough to make the grade at the star-studded team.

That’s the conundrum Neo Maema (right) was faced with when the Brazilians came calling in 2021, while he was still on the books of Bloemfontein Celtic.

Since his arrival at Chloorkop, the 28-year-old has won back-toback league titles, the MTN8, Nedbank Cup and African Football League.

“My father was the one who said you might sit on the bench,” Maema revealed to the club’s Pitchside Podcast about his father’s reservations when they became aware that Sundowns were interested in signing him three years ago.

“I said when you want to become the best, you have to compete against the best. I said ‘you know what dad, let me just go’. The good thing is that it happened before the season ended. There were still three or four games to go and they came knocking.

“When Sundowns want to sign you, if they call you at 11 that day, they make sure by 11 you have signed. I had a lot of conversations with my mom and my dad.

“My dad was like ‘I’m scared you’re going to sit on the bench because you’re playing now, but you’ll sit on the bench because of the type of squad they have’. I thought ‘life is a risk and let me just go’ but now he’s proud of me.”

Sundowns were scheduled to resume their league campaign against Golden Arrows tomorrow before the PSL canceled all midweek games due to Bafana Bafana’s late arrival from the Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast.

The defending champions will now turn their attention to Saturday’s blockbuster clash against Orlando Pirates at Loftus Versfeld.

“For me personally, I started slow this season and it has been a rough patch. For me, it’s about getting back to my best,” Maema said about his target for the rest of the season.

“We already lost one trophy (Sundowns lost to Pirates in the MTN8 final) and there are five to go, we have to make sure we compete to get those.”

The midfielder has made 14 appearances across all competitions this seasom, with his only goal coming in the 2-1 win over Kaizer Chiefs.