Komphela raves over youngster

Steve Komphela struggles to describe Wiseman Meyiwa without getting excited.

The teenager from Dambuza in Pietermaritz burg‚ who turns 18 in December‚ has impressed in the junior national teams and Kaizer Chiefs’ reserve side.

His performances earned promotion to the first team and Komphela has promised to unleash Meyiwa in the coming season.

“You know how old he is? Eighteen, but he has been to two World Cups (the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups)‚” Komphela said.

“He is a top dog. Wizo [Willard Katsande] has been playing in central midfield and doing a great job. But I have never seen a youngster playing twomatches ... without committing an error.

“That ’s impossible! But Meyiwa has done that. Top dog! We are going to unleash him. We will build on what Katsande has done‚ but Meyiwa is our future.

“His maturity‚ how he manages the area‚ his passes and his intelligence‚ they ’re out of this world. He plays one two touches for 90 minutes. I am getting goose bumps just thinking about it.”

His introduction into the first team should appease people who have criticised Amakhosi for not promoting enough players from their academy.

“The pressure at Chiefs is different‚” Komphela said. “You can have one hell of a quality player who comes here‚ you throw him at the deep end and he is consumed. He’s gone for good. You need to find a very smart way of integrating a player from junior to the senior team.”