Katlego Mphela

Katlego Mphela
Personal information
Full name Katlego Abel Mphela[1]
Date of birth (1984-11-29) 29 November 1984
Place of birth Brits, South Africa
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
Early Birds
Arcadia Shepherds
Orlando Pirates
Jomo Cosmos
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2004 Jomo Cosmos 2 (1)
2004–2006 Strasbourg 19 (5)
2005–2006 → Stade Reims (loan) 5 (2)
2006–2008 Supersport United 62 (10)
2008–2014 Mamelodi Sundowns 116 (16)
2015 Kaizer Chiefs 15 (3)
National team‡
2005–2007 South Africa U-23 7 (5)
2005–2013 South Africa 53 (23)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 April 2015.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 December 2013

Katlego Abel Mphela (born 29 November 1984, in Brits, Transvaal (now in North West)) is a South African footballer who used to play for Kaizer Chiefs.

His style of play includes challenging defenders with both pace and strength but he can still play deep as a supporting striker. He is nicknamed "Killer" for his finishing ability.[2]

Club career

Mphela, a product of Jomo Cosmos, played in France for RC Strasbourg and Stade Reims, both with limited success.

After returning home he turned out for Supersport United and Mamelodi Sundowns. He finished the 2009–10 season with 17 goals in 30 games which made him the league's top goalscorer. He won the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot and was voted PSL Players' Player of the Season.

Mphela joined Chiefs in 2014. He made his debut in a 2–2 draw against Maritzburg United.[3] He scored his first goal for Chiefs against Free State Stars but it was cancelled out almost immediately in a 1–1 draw.[4] Mphela scored on the last league match of the season in the 55th minute against AmaZulu in a 3–0 win.[5]

Statistics

Club

Club performance League
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
League
2003–04Jomo Cosmos21
2003–04RC Strasbourg20
2003–04RC Strasbourg B145
2004–05RC Strasbourg B103
2004–05RC Strasbourg120
2005–06Stade Reims50
2005–06Supersport United3010
2006–07RC Strasbourg B41
2006–07Supersport United136
2007–08Supersport United191
2008–09Mamelodi Sundowns183
2009–10Mamelodi Sundowns3017
2010–11Mamelodi Sundowns2213
2011–12Mamelodi Sundowns2510
2012–13Mamelodi Sundowns163
2013–14Mamelodi Sundowns52
2013–14Kaizer Chiefs118
2014–15Kaizer Chiefs106
Career total 23889

International career

Mphela scored a brace on his international debut against Seychelles on 26 February 2005.

He has represented South Africa 53 times, scoring 23 goals. He scored South Africa's only goal in the 3–1 defeat against Tunisia in the 2008 African Nations Cup.

Perhaps Mphela's greatest moment came in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup third-place playoff against Spain. Coming in as a substitute Mphela produced arguably the goal of the tournament with a free kick from 30 yards, which turned out to be the last action of the 90 mins, sending the game into extra time.

Mphela was included in South Africa's 23-man final squad for the 2010 World Cup. He played in the inaugural match against Mexico, which ended 1–1. Next, the Bafana Bafana played against Uruguay, but they lost the game 3–0. In their final group game, he scored the 2nd goal in a 2–1 win against France as South Africa exited the competition.[6]

Mphela opened the scoring in South Africa's first international match following the 2010 World Cup putting South Africa up 1–0 against Ghana.

Mphela scored the winner for South Africa against Egypt in the 93rd minute with a perfect finish that saw the North Africans beaten by South Africa for the first time in competitive football between the two countries and increased the hopes of qualification.

International goals

References

  1. ↑ "K. Mphela". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "Mphela's 'killer' instinct lifts South Africa". FIFA.com. FIFA. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  3. ↑ http://www.kickoff.com/mobile/news/41439/killer-mphela-happy-with-kaizer-chiefs-debut
  4. ↑ https://sg.sports.yahoo.com/news/kaizer-chiefs-1-1-free-state-stars-mphela-192200158.html
  5. ↑ http://www.football411.com/story/0,22162,14307_3149,00.html
  6. ↑ Bevan, Chris (22 June 2010). "France 1–2 South Africa". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/7/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.