Mahlatsi ‘will play anywhere’

20-YEAR-OLD SAYS HE WOULD BE HAPPY EVEN PLAYING IN GOAL FOR SUPERSPORT

Kamohelo Mahlatsi is one of the many youngsters who grew up idolising players such as Reneilwe Letsholonyane and former Bafana Bafana captain Bongani Khumalo, but he is one of the fortunate few who get to share a dressingroom with their football idols.

“Playing with such players is great because I grew up watching them on TV and now I am playing with them, that is really something big for me and it makes me push more and more so that other kids watch me and say they want to play with me just like I’ve always wanted to play with top players,” he told Phakaaathi.

Mahlatsi was promoted to SuperSport United’s senior team at the start of the season and he already has seven Absa Premiership appearances – the first match which he lasted 90 minutes was in the Tshwane derby against Mamelodi Sundowns.

Being 20 years old and relatively inexperienced could be a problem when you face the well-oiled machine that is Sundowns and their galaxy of star players.

But for Mahlatsi – who has previously spent six months on loan at National First Division side Ubuntu Cape Town – facing the likes of seasoned defenders Tebogo Langerman and Ricardo Nascimento, did not strike any fear into him.

“I have played in the NFD and it is a jungle there. We fight and we push and that prepared me for the top flight because then I can play against top players such as Khama Billiat,” said Mahlatsi.

He says switching from the academy team into the senior team did not come with a lot of change, except he had to learn and understand how his team-mates play.

“It is not as difficult as I thought it would be because the senior players are there for me. They treat us (youngsters) equally, you don’t feel like you are new and they don’t exclude us from stuff, we do everything together.

“I have been here at SuperSport for a while and I know the system, there is not a lot that has changed from the youth team to the first team and I think that was done deliberately so that when young players graduate we are able to adapt fast. What gave me a challenge was my team-mates… like, knowing how one player plays,” he said.

Coach Kaitano Tembo does not mind trying out new combinations and throwing youngsters into the deep end and also playing them out of position. With that said, Mahlatsi does not care where he is deployed – even if it is as a goalkeeper.

“I play as a No 10 but he (Tembo) prefers to play me on the wing – I can do both. In

the end, wherever the coach decides to play me, I will play, even if I don’t know how to play as a goalkeeper, I will play there if the coach asks me,” he quips.

If Mahlatsi is to establish himself as a versatile player, he will need to work

extra hard on his craft, and that is exactly what he is planning to do, hoping that will pave way for a move abroad.

“When I play I know there are people who are watching and I will push. There are different strategies for every game, I will not use the same strategy I used in the previous match because I want to improve my game and the opponents are different. Each game has its own demands

and I want people to see I have improved in every game because we learn every time.

“I want to go to Europe soon, I don’t want to play here for long and I want to play for Bafana Bafana but at

the right time.”

With the season well past the half

way mark, the games are coming thick and fast and so are the injuries and suspensions. That is where Mahlatsi and youngsters alike will capitalise, he says.

“Those are the opportunities for us to play and if the coach gives us a chance we need to use it effectively