‘He is one of a kind,’ says the coach who helped mould Brazilians and Bafana defender

From their early interactions at amateur Limpopo side Dolphins FC, coach Phuti Mohafe never doubted defender Thabang Matuludi.

Mohafe is one of the coaches who worked with a raw but highly promising Matuludi at amateur level, where they moulded the defender into the player who has ended up winning trophies with Mamelodi Sundowns and representing his country.

Matuludi, 27, was at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco and the 2026 Fifa World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, but did not get game time in those tournaments.

After grafting at the lower levels, Matuludi flourished at Polokwane City, where he was also coached by Mohafe, and his impressive performances caught the attention of former Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos as a marauding right-back. Before City, Bafana and Sundowns, it was coaches like Mohafe, Humphrey Sithole and others who spent endless hours polishing the rough diamond to sparkle on the big stage.

Since he arrived at Chloorkop last month, Matuludi has amassed a remarkable statistic, featuring in two matches and winning two trophies. One came in the Fifa Intercontinental Cup, where Downs lifted the adjoining African-Asian-Pacific Cup beating Al-Ahli Saudi. The second came in Saturday’s MTN8 final against Orlando Pirates, where the Brazilians won 2-0.

Mohafe is not surprised his protégé made it as far as turning out for star-studded international competitors and current African champions Sundowns, who compete for trophies every season and consistently represent the country in the advanced stages of the Champions League.

It says something for the intense rivalry for places at Downs, though, that Matuludi, from Sekhukhune in Limpopo, will have to remain consistently excellent because competition among the right-backs is fierce at the club. He is competing for starting places with campaigners like Bafana stalwart Khuliso Mudau, who is out with injury; another national star in Thapelo Morena, Zuko Mdunyelwa and new signing Deano van Rooyen.

“I found him at Dolphins FC in the ABC Motsepe League in 2021. He was recruited by coach Humphrey Sithole, if I am not mistaken,” Mohafe told Sunday Times.

“He played as a winger that season in 2021. We realised he could be a good addition as a right-back and we tried him there, moving Obed Thuto to centre-back, and it worked well for us.

“In the next match, we played him at right-back and he played exceptionally well. We knew we had stabilised our right-back position and from then he never looked back.”

Mohafe said City snapped Matuludi up at the earliest opportunity.

“Before going to the playoffs that year, we were playing against a local team at Peter Mokaba Stadium and I invited coach Willy Moloto, who is the current coach of Polokwane City. At that time City were still playing in the NFD and they were looking for under-23 players. I told Moloto I had two quality right-backs and I wanted him to come and watch them.

“He played well on the day and that is when City started following him closely. We went to the [Motsepe] playoffs in Mpumalanga and also played well there.

“At the end of the season, that is when he was recruited to City. Matuludi, because of the stability he showed during the playoffs, was the obvious choice for the U-23 rule in the NFD and that is how he left Dolphins FC and went to Polokwane City.”

Coach and player would later meet again at City where Mohafe took Matuludi’s game to another level.

“I also later left Dolphins FC and went back to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) but I was only there for seven games. I left TTM to join City. I found him there and it was a good reunion.”

Mohafe said Matuludi has many good attributes of a modern right-back but needs to improve on his recovery runs.

“As a defender, you are looking one-vs-one, and he is a good marker. Secondly, you look at his aerial presence and he will win the aerial balls for the whole game. I don’t remember him missing even a single header in a game. Now I will add the offensive part and he’s got a good engine and his endurance capacity is very strong.

I found him at Dolphins FC in the ABC Motsepe League in 2021.

—  Former Polokwane City coach Phuti Mohafe

“So he will go up and give you a good cross, he will go up and give you good combination play. And going forward, he is still strong on one-vs-ones, offensively and playing crosses. He also has a good speed of attack.

“The only thing I need him to improve on is his recovery runs. You also get one or two goals from him from the set pieces and he communicates well. He is one of a kind.”

Mohafe said he hopes Matuludi’s rise to the top serves as motivation to other young players from rural areas.

“You see Aubrey Modiba, he comes from the villages there in Turfloop but he is playing for one of the big teams in Mamelodi Sundowns and for Bafana Bafana. Grant Kekana comes from Seshego and he is also playing for a big team and the national team. So it is possible to get to the top, it just depends on how much you want it.

“These other boys must be serious and look at what these guys are doing; this is the right motivation. Back then we looked up to someone like Tefu Mashamaite, who comes from rural Bochum but played for Kaizer Chiefs. Hlompho Kekana is from rural Zebediela and played for Sundowns and Bafana Bafana. So it’s a good motivation for the up-and-coming youngsters.”

Matuludi’s rise may be a surprise to many, but not Mohafe.

“I am not surprised because of the way I used to sit down and have talks with him. The good thing about that was I told him about myself. Maybe that’s where the big lessons came from. He is a good listener and I hope it didn’t stop at Polokwane City and with me. I just hope he will keep on listening to coaches that are with him and who are still going to work with him.

“And even in the national team, it can still open doors for him somewhere else.”