May_Mahlangu
May Mahlangu
South African soccer player
May Mahlangu (born 1 May 1989) is a South African professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder.
|
Mahlangu playing for Helsingborgs IF in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | May Sphiwe Mahlangu | ||
| Date of birth | (1989-05-01) 1 May 1989 (age 34) | ||
| Place of birth | Secunda, South Africa | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2006 | Stars of Africa Academy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2008 | Alexandra United | 40 | (3) |
| 2008–2013 | Helsingborgs IF | 98 | (7) |
| 2008–2009 | → IFK Hässleholm (loan) | 16 | (6) |
| 2014 | IFK Göteborg | 24 | (5) |
| 2015 | Konyaspor | 10 | (1) |
| 2015–2016 | Sint-Truiden | 18 | (2) |
| 2016–2018 | Dinamo București | 62 | (3) |
| 2018–2019 | Ludogorets Razgrad | 4 | (1) |
| 2019 | → Ordabasy (loan) | 29 | (3) |
| 2020–2021 | Ordabasy | 22 | (0) |
| 2022 | Aksu | 3 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012– | South Africa | 18 | (2) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 December 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 August 2018 | |||
Early career
Mahlangu joined the Stars of Africa Academy at age 15 and played for their team Alexandra United FC.[1]
Helsingborgs IF
Bo Nilsson was the manager of Allsvenskan club Helsingborgs IF in 2008 and through his connections with the academy he brought over Mahlangu to Sweden. Nilsson set it up so that Mahlangu would train with both Helsingborg and fourth tier club IFK Hässleholm each day, and that he would initially play league games for Hässleholm.[2][3] After impressing in the Swedish lower leagues, Helsingborg decided to permanently make him a part of their squad in the summer of 2009.[4] In 2011 the club won the Swedish league and Mahlangu was given the player of the year award.[5]
IFK Göteborg
On 4 March 2014 Mahlangu joined Allsvenskan club IFK Göteborg on a one-year contract.[6]
Konyaspor
May Mahlangu signed with Konyaspor in January 2015 as a free transfer. On 28 February 2015, Mahlangu scored his first league goal against Fenerbahçe.
Ludogorets Razgrad
Mahlangu signed a contract with Ludogorets Razgrad in August 2018,[7] but saw limited action for the team.
Ordabasy
In 2019 he joined Ordabasy on loan before signing permanently with the Kazakh side in 2020.[8]
In January 2012, Mahlangu made his debut for the South Africa national team in a friendly against Equatorial Guinea.[9] He was also included in South Africa's squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.[10]
In November 2014, Mahlangu was banned from selection for the Bafana Bafana after failing to turn up for their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sudan and Nigeria, citing fatigue.[11][12]
Club
- As of 13 February 2019[13]
| Club | Season | Division | League | Cup[lower-alpha 1] | Continental[lower-alpha 2] | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| IFK Hässleholm | 2008 | Division 2 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 6 | 1 | ||
| 2009 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 5 | |||
| Total | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 6 | ||
| Helsingborgs IF | 2009 | Allsvenskan | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2010 | 19 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 22 | 3 | |||
| 2011 | 28 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 5 | ||
| 2012 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
| 2013 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| Total | 98 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 131 | 8 | ||
| IFK Göteborg | 2014 | Allsvenskan | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 30 | 7 |
| Konyaspor | 2014–15 | Süper Lig | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 12 | 1 | |
| Sint-Truiden | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 19 | 2 | |
| Dinamo București | 2016–17 | Liga I | 22 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 27 | 1 | |
| 2017–18 | 35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | |||
| Total | 62 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 71 | 4 | ||
| Ludogorets Razgrad | 2018–19 | First League | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| Ludogorets Razgrad II | 2018–19 | Second League | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| Ordabasy (loan) | 2019 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 29 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 3 |
| Ordabasy | 2020 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | 264 | 28 | 29 | 2 | 31 | 2 | 324 | 33 | ||
- Includes Cupa României, Cupa Ligii, Supercupa României, Bulgarian Cup and Bulgarian Supercup.
- Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
International
- As of 7 July 2019[14]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 2012 | 6 | 1 |
| 2013 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 18 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mahlangu goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 December 2012 | Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa |  Malawi | 3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 27 January 2013 | Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa |  Morocco | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2013 Africa Cup of Nations |
Helsingborgs IF
Dinamo Bucharest
Individual
- Allsvenskan Player of the Year: 2011
- "May Mahlangu". starsofafricafootballacademy.com. Stars of Africa Football Academy. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- "May visade framfötterna". kristianstadsbladet.com (in Swedish). Kristianstadsbladet. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- "Afrikanska diamanter slipas i IFK Hässleholm". skanskan.se (in Swedish). Skånskan. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- "Mahlangu kan ersätta Landgren". hd.se (in Swedish). Helsingborgs Dagblad. Archived from the original on 14 August 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- "May Mahlangu - Årets allsvenska spelare!". hif.se (in Swedish). Helsingborgs IF. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- "Mahlangu klar för IFK Göteborg" (in Swedish). IFK Göteborg. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- "Лудогорец представи Мей Махлангу и Жуниор Брандао" (in Bulgarian). ludogorets.com. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- "Официально: Механович и Махлангу продлили контракты с "Ордабасы"" (in Russian). kazfootball.kz. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- "May debuterade i landslaget". hif.se (in Swedish). Helsingborgs IF. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- "Afrikanska mästerskapen för May Mahlangu". hif.se (in Swedish). Helsingborgs IF. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- "Mahlangu banned from Bafana". www.sport24.co.za. sport24. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- "May Mahlangu banned from playing for South Africa after asking to be rested". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- "May Mahlangu". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- "May Mahlangu". National Football Teams. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- Profile at HelsingborgsIF.se (in Swedish)
- May Mahlangu at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish) (archived)
- May Mahlangu club team profile at SvFF (in Swedish) (archived)
- May Mahlangu at WorldFootball.net
- May Mahlangu at Elite Football (archive)