TS Galaxy coach Adnan Beganovic has given a candid explanation on why the club decided not to move forward with signing former Al Ahly and Mamelodi Sundowns star Phakamani Mahlambi.
He had been training with Galaxy since around last November, when he was working on bursting back onto the South African football scene after nearly three years without a club.
However, after almost three months of assessment, the club decided not to hand the 28-year-old a lifeline and an opportunity to play alongside his younger brother, Seluleko Mahlambi.
Far behind with fitness
Speaking to the media at the PSL offices in Parktown ahead of their Nedbank Cup tie against Marumo Gallants on Sunday, Beganovic said Mahlambi was far behind with fitness and could not meet the required standard.
“I want to be honest. TS Galaxy is a club that is always willing to give a second chance to everyone. I know how difficult it is in one moment to have everything in your life and lose it. And then you try to come back on the right track,” Beganović said.
“It is so difficult, it is so tough, and that is the situation with Mahlambi. I then had a meeting with our chairman [Tim Sukazi]. We spoke about Phakamani, and we agreed to have him in for assessment.
“We gave him time, one, two, three months, and possibly more. To see if he can recover his body to be on that level that we need. Because the level of the PSL is high.
“So, we tried to work with him and were patient, step by step. But it was so difficult and so tough [to get him to the required level]. Because we also could not push him too hard and overload him because that would put him at risk of getting a serious injury and then losing everything again.
“We tried everything that we could. And after some months of analysing his training, friendly games, data, and everything, we made a decision not to move forward with signing. Because it was just difficult to get him to the level that we need for the PSL,” the Galaxy coach added.
Burst onto scene in 2015
Mahlambi was proclaimed as the next big star to come out of SA football after he surfaced at the now-defunct Bidvest Wits in 2015. There, he showed flashes of his quality, as he was voted PSL Young Player of the Season in his debut campaign.
He then bagged himself a big-money move to Egyptian giants Al Ahly. And he became the first South African player to don the jersey of the most successful club in Africa.
However, his stint was brief in Egypt. Things did not turn out the way he and the country hoped for. And he ultimately returned home to join Sundowns.
Things also did not work out as expected at Sundowns under coach Pitso Mosimane. The KwaZulu-Natal-born star was reported to be battling with off-the-field and lifestyle issues.
He then disappeared for a short while. But he later returned with an attempt to revive his career at Chippa United and AmaZulu. Things also did not end well for him, and he has since been without a club.
It is yet to be seen whether Mahlambi will eventually revive his career and reach his full potential. This as as age is still very much on his side.
