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Workhorse Kekana leading Sundowns’ charge

AHEAD of the start of the 2017/18 Absa Premiership season, Independent Newspapers will profile captains of the five teams we believe are among the serious challengers for the league title.

In our second feature, we zoom in on Mamelodi Sundowns skipper Hlompho Kekana. ‘KK’, as his coach Pitso Mosimane and Sundowns teammates affectionately refer him to, has really come out of his shell since being handed the captain’s armband, following the departure of Ramahlwe Mphahlele to Kaizer Chiefs more than a year ago. It had come as a bit of a surprise that he’d been chosen as the successor, given his reserved nature. But in just 12 months, Kekana has grown into the role and is also a matchwinner for the Brazilians, to such an extent that his absence is seriously felt when he is either injured or suspended. Although Sundowns ended up suffering a 1-0 defeat to Maritzburg United in their MTN8 quarter-final clash at the weekend, Kekana showed in that match what it means to be a leader when he almost singlehandedly got them back into the game. The 32-year-old is still going strong and will again be looking to play a crucial part as a leader and a contributor of goals in Sundowns’ title charge this season, as well as their attempt to defend their CAF Champions League trophy. Kekana has flown under the radar for much of his career, but has plenty of experience. He is arguably a reluctant leader by nature but his age and international experience for the senior national team, have left him with no other choice but to accept that he is now a senior member of any squad he finds himself in. He now has to lead by example and guide the younger players under his tutelage. Kekana had ideal role models for his current responsibility, seeing the great Esrom Nyandoro captain Sundowns. The Zimbabwean had a lot more in common with Kekana than many realise perhaps – their playing style, position and their quiet demeanour off the pitch. There was also Alje Schut, a Dutch defender who was brought to Sundowns by his compatriot and former Barcelona legend Johan Neeskens and was in no time revered by the club supporters as he captained the Brazilians to a league title in 2014. In his time as skipper, Kekana has already lifted a continental title in Sundowns’ greatest triumph yet – and will be hoping for plenty more. Kekana is a late bloomer. His game has definitely evolved and like a fine wine, he has matured with age. But he’s always had the same qualities and was often overlooked by previous national team coaches, until Shakes Mashaba brought him back into the picture recently. Part of his game, are his charateristic long range strikes, one of which earned him a nomination for the Fifa Puskas Award last year. He has always been a deep lying central midfielder who does the dirty work and sets the attackers free. It’s really in the last two seasons that he’s added scoring goals to his playing style, a dimension that no doubt paved the way for his national team inclusion. He managed eight goals in 40 matches for Sundowns last season. He had scored six goals the season before. Sundowns have the luxury of being able to have cover in every position, given the acquisition they make every season. But when Kekana is not available, a like-for-like replacement is hard to come by, even with the embarrassment of riches in the squad. Few are brave enough to attempt to score from as far as Kekana has hit them, and often his accuracy from free kicks is unmatched. He not only offers goals, but can also spray the passes as well to locate strikers to finish the job. Kekana has become the Sundowns workhorse that coach Mosimane cannot do without. His goals win matches and are hardly ever ordinary, and he’s done it for Bafana, too.