At the Moses Mabhida Stadium, George Maluleka, wearing the colors of Kaizer Chiefs, created a moment of genius by throwing a lovely cross into Tefu Mashamaite’s head. Tefu then nodded past the late Senzo Meyiwa to give Amakhosi their last MTN8 championship. That was seven years ago.
In 2022, Maluleka plans to once again deprive the Buccaneers of their first MTN8 championship in order to give his new team AmaZulu their first.
As Usuthu eliminated his previous team Chiefs in the semi-final, the 33-year-old put on a performance to remember, winning Man of the Match in the process.
The veteran, who was born in Tembisa, disclosed his team’s preparations to exploit any vulnerabilities shown by Pirates as the chance to create club history looms.
“We will undoubtedly attempt to take advantage of their vulnerability, which will be to our advantage. We’ll watch a few clips from their game versus the Chiefs, and depending on the coach’s game plan that day, we’ll aim to harm them where it counts the most,” he added.
Maluleka is one of the few players in the Usuthu camp with experience in high-profile matches, but he thinks the club’s most experienced players will play a significant part.
“Not only me here needs to play a significant role. We have guys that have been there for a while, like Rama (Mphahlele) and Bongi Ntuli,” Maluleka added.
“I believe that we have a pretty nice combination of guys that can help each other out and lead by example. I feel really fortunate to be surrounded by such driven individuals, and I believe it is the reason we are here today.