The Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder has been in good form lately, his contribution to a fully-fledged Sundowns team has been praised by his coach Rhulani Mokwena. Neo Maema has been with Sundowns for two and a half years and has never received a Bafana call-up. Former Chiefs player Junior Khanyi has praised the 27-year-old and reckons he should be selected for the senior national team.
“Neo Maema, I think that the boy is talented. I think Bafana coaches must give the boy a chance,” Khanyi told IdiskiTV.
“I’m starting to see a player... no in fact it's not the first time but it's been a while. That boy in that position after Thulani Serero, I saw Serero, I saw a similar type of player.
“He plays the number 10 role nicely because he has variety. They [Sundowns] played differently with three against Al Hilal, it was Shalulile, Mailula with him feeding both of them. He brought balance and if not, he hit the target himself.
“You can even look at the goal and how he supported play. Mkhulise is always a box-to-box there is no game where you find Mkhulise cold. He [Maema] was fetching the ball and looking for that boy.
“I mean Neo would make himself available every time and he became a problem for the opponents because they wanted to close pockets, but he stood behind their midfield. When he touched the ball, it became a problem for the back three.”
Maema was clinical as he was one of the leading players in Sundowns 1-0 win against Al Hilal in the CAF champions League. Maema is one of the best-attacking midfielder in the country, his ability on the ball is remarkable. He has played 1344 minutes in the league and 1595 in all competitions. So far, Maema has had 18 appearances in the Dstv Premiership and made 22 appearances in all competitions scoring 5 goals and 1 assist in a high-pressured and talented Sundowns team.
Maema’s addition to the national team could bring more positives for Bafana Bafana, his dynamic style of play, vision to play a pass and speed, and his good football brain, which gives a chance for Bafana Bafana to be deadly
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