May is the new heartbeat of Bafana

After a storming Afcon showing, midfielder can clinch Bafana spot

JOHN "Shoes" Moshoeu, arguably Bafana Bafana's greatest No10, believes May Mahlangu has the potential to fill the void left by the retirement of Steven Pienaar and become SA's new general in central midfield.

Mahlangu, Sweden's 2011 Allsvenskan's player of the season at 21 for guiding Helsingborg to the title, took a few matches to show his potential in a Bafana jersey. After three storming performances as SA reached the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals, a promising international career lies ahead.

Moshoeu said Mahlangu, now 23 and with just six caps, could become Bafana's key player in midfield.

"If he matures then, yes, why not? He's one of the better players of the current generation," the former Fenerbahce star said.

"But he can still be developed from where he is. Talent is not enough. If May can work on his awareness and his skill he can become a more complete footballer."

Mahlangu followed a competent game in the 2-0 win over Angola with a skilled display and stunningly executed goal in the 2-2 draw with Morocco, and a superb running performance in the penalties defeat to Mali in the quarterfinals.

Having played much of his career in defensive midfield, his performances as an out-and-out playmaker have forced new Helsingborg coach Roar Hansen to rethink the role he will have for Mahlangu.

"I want to sit down and talk to May so he will be comfortable with what decision we take," said the coach, who met Mahlangu for the first time on Wednesday.

Mahlangu's continued presence at Helsingborg - whom the player has outgrown since joining the first team in 2009 - is one of the headaches Hansen faces as he attempts to improve on last season's sixth place.

There has been interest from France and Turkey. And pictures of the midfielder arriving in Portugal to join his club's pre-season training camp on Tuesday (the Allsvenskan runs from April to November) sporting an FC Twente jersey went viral, sparking rumours of a transfer. He had to explain it was a swapped shirt from last year's Champions League tie.

"Maybe May wants to go to a bigger club but for the moment he hasn't, and I'm very happy about that," Hansen said.

Unusually for a South African midfielder, Mahlangu runs straight and direct rather than sideways. It's believed to be the reason Bafana coach Gordon Igesund, at first sceptical of him, included Mahlangu in his squad after a training camp in Montecasino after Christmas.

It was a feature worked on when Mahlangu was part of Farouk Khan's Brixton-based Stars of Africa academy for five years.

Khan said Mahlangu was brought to Stars by "someone from May's home town in Secunda called Elijah". The ex-Chiefs and Sundowns assistant coach said Mahlangu's tendency to over-elaborate on the ball had to be polished.

"He wanted to dribble three or four players. We had to tell him, 'When you have the ball you need to ensure you have your head up. You have more than one option, you need to play with and off your team-mates'.

"He's a box-to-box player who is able to connect defence to attack. May's greatest attributes are physiological. In the tests we did at UJ, he scored highest in the aerobic Beep Test. And in anaerobic sprints he could make a dash and recover very quickly, which is a great attribute for any player.

"He also has an eye for goal. When we had our Vodacom team, Alexandra United, he used to come from deep midfield and score goals.

"He was versatile. There was a time May had to play in central defence against Pirates' Vodacom team, Yebo-Yes, and he had one of his best games. And I think due to the exposure of defence and attack May grew as a player.

"I think in the next five years he's going to be an exceptional player for this country."