Premier Soccer League’s reigning footballer of the season Peter Shalulile stands a good chance of becoming the second player after Collins Mbesuma of Zambia to win SA’s golden boot twice.
This comes after the Namibian striker’s hat-trick took his DStv Premiership tally to 18 strikes this season. It was the first hat-trick by any player this season, during Sundowns’ 4-2 victory over Swallows FC on Wednesday. The win keeps Sundowns firm favourites to top the league for the fifth time in a row as they’re now 11 points clear of second-placed Royal AM after collecting 54 points in 24 matches.
Shalulile won the Premiership’s Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot Award jointly with Gabadinho Mhango of Orlando Pirates after they finished with 16 goals in the 2019-2020 campaign. He was playing for the now defunct Highlands Park at the time.
In his first season (2020-2021) with Sundowns, Shalulile was pipped by SuperSport United’s Bradley Grobler last season, ending the campaign on 15 strikes while Grobler took the award with 16 goals.
A lot is still expected from the nippy striker as Sundowns are not only looking to add the league title to the MTN 8 that’s already glittering in Chloorkop. The Brazilians will complete the quadruple if they also win the Nedbank Cup and the Caf Champions League.
But how does Shalulile ranks among the top strikers to have graced SA professional football since the launch of the Premier Soccer League in the 1996-1997 season? Well, the 28 year old is right up there in consistency, sharpness, fitness and hunger.
Shalulile is the only player to win the golden boot, finish as a runner-up in the following season and then be positioned to win the award for a second time in his third campaign.
Even Mbesuma, whose record of 25 league goals scored for Kaizer Chiefs in 2004-2005 still stands, was not as consistent as there’s a 10-year gap between his first and second award (2015-2016). Mbesuma, one of six Zambians to win the award, may argue that he went abroad immediately after winning the league and the award with Chiefs in 2005. But he did return in 2008 and played for top PSL clubs until 2018.
Shalulile’s name will be etched among the top foreign strikers to land our shores and win the award. Others include Mbesuma, Zimbabweans Wilfred Mugeyi, Knowledge Musona and Gilbert Mushangazhike; and Zambians Dennis Lota and Christopher Katongo, who won the award with 15 goals at the end of the 2006-2007 season although he only played the first half of the season before going on to join Danish club Brondby.
There have been other dramatic moments around this award, one highlight coming in the 2013-2014 campaign when Chiefs’ Bernard Parker won it with a mere 10 goals, one less than the 11 goals of Keryn Jordan (1997-1998), Rodney Ramagalela and Percy Tau (2017-2018).
And if you were wondering why Bafana Bafana are always short of sharpshooters of Shalulile’s calibre, look no further than SA’s record in the PSL where only Pollen Ndlanya (1998-1999) and Siyabonga Nomvethe (2011-2012) have scored 20 or more goals in the league’s past 25 seasons.
Shalulile will join Mbesuma and Mugeyi, who won the golden boot with 22 goals while playing for Umtata Bush Bucks in the PSL’s inaugural season in 1996, as another foreign marksman to score 20 goals or more if he does this season.
With six league matches remaining, Shalulile has plenty of room to score 20 or more while also fending off Royal AM’s Victor Letsoalo, who is on his heels with 14 goals.
Letsoalo gave some hope to the South Africans this week when he said: “When I get onto the field I want to score. Even with Shalulile you can see he’s competing with me. It’s possible that I can surpass him because he’s done that to me as well this season.”
Well, that would a be change welcomed by South Africans.
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