A courageous campaigner for club and country, Mothobi Mvala is impossible to miss. Apart from his imposing figure — he stands at 1.82m — he is unmissable because he seldom departs the field without his head strapped in a bandage.
No player in the PSL sustains serial head knocks from aerial duels, not serious enough for him to be substituted but bad enough for him to get wrapped. The moniker Mr Bandage is not misplaced.
It’s in his favour that the fellow without much fanfare always has hair. A chiskop may reveal a raft of scars that may leave an observer convinced the 29-year-old is a hardened stick-fighting battler who has taken one hit too many to the skull.
His guts and grit make Mvala the go-to guy for club and country. The unglamourous footballer from Theunissen — a small town with the distinction of having the only wine farm in the Free State — is one of the first names on the team sheet for Rulani Mokwena at Mamelodi Sundowns, equally so for Hugo Broos at Bafana Bafana as a defensive midfielder or centre-back deployee.
Mokwena, who leads Sundowns to the second leg of the inaugural African Football League against Wydad Casablanca at Loftus Versfeld Stadium this afternoon, attributes Mvala’s significance in the Sundowns setup to the selflessness of a soldier prepared to die in battle.
Mothobi happens to be not just a good footballer but a good human being with a good heart
— Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena
“Where do we start, Mothobi is a very reliable human being. He is not glam. I understand sometimes when he doesn’t catch the eye or he doesn’t receive the plaudits that he deserves. But he is a better footballer than a lot of people think. He’s extremely accomplished and he’s improved incredibly,” said Mokwena.
He explained how Mvala’s improvements manifest themselves. “It’s his ability to control the ball and to make better passes. Defensively he’s extremely astute. Especially in one-on-one man marking, he’s very, very good. His anticipation for situations and his reading of the game is second to none.
“Technically, [it is] his first touch and his ability to circle the long balls and not just compete for the first ball and the second ball. He has got a very good ability to start our attacks from the back. He assists us a lot in our build-up phases. And then of course his physical profile, from the aggressivity to the duels, especially aerially. His ability to influence on set pieces on both sides of the boxes is key.
“But also, he is an incredible human being. I like working with good people and good footballers who are good people. Mothobi happens to be not just a good footballer but a good human being with a good heart. I call him a gentle giant because people see this big, strong, very feisty face but inside there is this gentleness that makes you warm towards him.”
For Mokwena, it embodies the spirit and mentality of a warrior that Mvala hardly ever leaves a match without a bandage on his head. “It just shows you that when they say you go to war with those you trust, Mothobi is one of the people that you can trust in the battlefield. He can be extremely reliable and someone that we can take to war."
Mvala is a motivating force, testifies Broos, whose mentality transcends into Bafana and leaves the Belgian satisfied.
“He always satisfies me with his performance. He’s the guy who’s always going for 200% in the game. He’s maybe not the most talented player but he has a fantastic mentality. So, he’s never disappointed me when he plays for the national team. It’s not because he’s missed one or two games of Sundowns that I will not select him anymore,” said Broos.
Sundowns have made crossing swords with north African clubs second nature. Exceptional escapades expertly engineered by Pitso Mosimane made the irrepressible mentor irresistible. Al Ahly prised him away and he embarked on a trail into uncharted territory where he pitched his tent as a conqueror.
Mokwena, for whom Mosimane was his personal Mr Miyagi, is paving a path of his own as a talismanic technocrat, blazing a trail that saw Wydad fans last Sunday accord him the same admiration they once showed Mosimane in their cauldron.
Mvala saw red early against Al Ahly but returned in the second leg against Wydad last Sunday and finished the match without a bandage.
Downs vs Wydad: head-to-head stats
- Sundowns have won just one of their last six encounters against Wydad (D4 L1), scoring four goals, and conceding twice in each of the last two games (D1 L1).
- Having won the first leg (2-1), Wydad are looking to win consecutive matches against Sundowns for the first time since April 2019.
- Sundowns have never lost a home match against Wydad, alternating between a win and a draw in their six such games against the Moroccan side (W3 D3).
- The last two matches between Sundowns and Wydad have seen an average of 3.5 goals per game (2-1 in the first leg and 2-2 in the Caf Champions League in May), after the first 11 games between the two sides saw an average of just 1.2 (13 goals in total).
- Sundowns are unbeaten in their last 24 home matches in all competitions (W20 D4), keeping clean sheets in five of their last seven such games.
- Wydad have won seven of their last eight matches in all competitions (L1), while their sole defeat did come away from home — in the second leg of their semifinal against ES Tunis (1-0) in the African Football League (progressed to the final on penalties).
— cafonline
