Big 150: unassuming Banyana legend Nyandeni marks last dance with milestone

No frills, no fanfare and that’s how Banyana Banyana legend Nompumelelo Nyandeni prefers it. 

The veteran midfielder, known more popularly as Mpumi, will play her 150th match in the friendlies against Malawi on Saturday and next Tuesday in Johannesburg and she is not overhyping the occasion.

She went about her usual business at the University of Johannesburg in Auckland Park as Banyana prepared for the two matches against Malawi at UJ Soweto Campus on Saturday (3pm) and Tuesday. The matches form part of Desiree Ellis's champions' preparations towards defending the Women's Africa Cup of Nations title they sensationally won in Morocco in 2022 in this year's tournament in the same host country in July. 

Nyandeni, 37, probably would have preferred to skip interviews because of her unassuming nature, but you are not going to avoid media ahead of reaching such a major personal milestone, which will take some time to be repeated. Answering questions about her milestones, Nyandeni said she cannot wait for her swansong. 

“It is my final dance. I have represented Banyana over the years and I am happy that coach Desiree Ellis called me for this camp [to play my 150th match],” she said, adding she has waited to reach the landmark for an unusually long time. 

“I have been waiting for six years for this opportunity. My last game for Banyana was in 2019. I did not give up but I continued playing for JVW so I am ready for whenever the coach calls me.” 

A product of the youth system of Mpumalanga club Detroit Ladies who spent time many years in Russia with WFC Rossiyanka, Nyandeni said she enjoys imparting her knowledge and huge experience with Banyana's emerging generation in the camp as a seasoned veteran. “For me to be in this camp I am sharing a lot with younger players and I help them be calm. I want them to remember the smile on my face because I always played with a smile.” 

She said a career that spanned more than two decades has been a rollercoaster ride. “The first career highlight was my first call-up and second was qualifying for the [2012 London] Olympics because at that time we always struggled to qualify for major tournaments.

“I was also part of the team that qualified for the World Cup, but unfortunately I did not go to the tournament. That was the saddest part of my career, but we move on.” 

The other player who will soon retire from the Banyana team is 39-year-old defender Noko Matlou, the striker-turned-defender who will earn her 176th cap — the second-most after Janine van Wyk's 185 — against Malawi then call it quits after a glittering career. Nyandeni said her and Matlou's generation have played their part in the Banyana team becoming among Africa's best, and competitive globally, as shown by becoming the first South African senior team to progress past a World Cup group stage in a heroic campaign in Australasia in 2023. 

“We have been in the game for long and there are players here in the national team I coach at club level [Nyandeni is in the coaching staff at JVW]. For me and Noko, we played our part and we are making our way for younger players. 

“I am happy Noko is still playing overseas [for Spanish club CP Cacereño Femenino] while stopping to play for the country. She is the first player from South Africa to win a Caf individual award [the 2008 African Women's Footballer of the Year] and she did her best.” 

Banyana coach Ellis paid glowing tribute to Nyandeni, the former national striker she met as a 15-year old. 

“We learnt our lesson when we put Janine in a qualifier match and she did not play her [full] final game because there was pressure in that game and we needed to get the result,” Ellis said, referring to Van Wyk playing seven minutes of her final game in a token appearance to earn the record as Africa's most-capped men's or women's footballer. “We had conversations with Mpumi last year and unfortunately we didn’t have matches at home. We wanted to give her a send-off in front of her supporters here at home.

“She has played with most of these players and this is the perfect way to bring the curtain down and a give her the 150 caps and a proper farewell. She will definitely play in one of these two games against Malawi. 

“She came to the senior national team as a 15-year old and at that time I was stepping out of the national team [as a player] and she was coming through. When I saw her play for the first time, she was a revelation — gifted and skilful.” 

Ellis said Nyandeni played a major part in Banyana’s growth. “She has been part of a lot of the success of the national team. The experience she brings to younger players is second to none. We cannot thank her enough. 

“We learn from other countries to say thank you to players when they have given good service. Most times, many countries don’t do that and we feel it’s a must to give her a proper farewell to say, ‘Thank you for what they have done to for the country.’”