Johannesburg — Neo Maema might be rubbing shoulders with one of his idols at Mamelodi Sundown, but he’s not satisfied as he wants to improve week in and week out.
A student of the game after making a name for himself in the junior ranks of the defunct Bloemfontein Celtic, Maema made the big jump last season as he joined Sundowns.
In the star-studded Sundowns team, Maema was expected to compete for a starting berth alongside role model Themba Zwane and journeyman Haashim Domingo — among others.
And that feat seemed to all but tell a story of a player that would spend most of the time on the bench, kicking his heels on the stands.
But that wasn’t to be. Maema played a key role in Sundowns’ successful challenge for a domestic treble, the Premiership title, MTN8 and Nedbank Cup.
In his second campaign, Maema, 27, has grown in leaps and bounds and has become arguably one of the players who are at the top of coach Rhulani Mokwena’s starting line-up on match-day.
Maema, though, has embraced the challenge as he feels that he belongs to the club — not allowing the hype of sharing the dressing room with his idol get to his head.
“I got the offer from Sundowns and I accepted — that’s why I am here. I was looking forward to playing with Themba Zwane. I’ve looked up to him and I still do,” Maema said.
“I am never familiar, nor do I get satisfied. I always want more. There are a lot of things that I can still learn as they can take my football to the next level.”
Coached by the astute players’ coach Mokwena, Maema is poised to continue with his resurgence at the club.
Mokwena is also in awe of Maema qualities as both a footballer and person amid his meteoric rise since joining the club two seasons ago.
“Neo is a top professional. A pleasure to coach. He’s extremely intelligent. He’s hardworking for the talented player that he is. He’s got an incredible work ethic,” Mokwena said.
Amid their local dominance, Sundowns have also been a magnet to talented players due to playing in Caf Champions League football season in and season out, they haven’t won the competition since 2016.
But after recently getting back to winning ways in all competitions with a 4-1 win over CR Belouizdad in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals last weekend, Sundowns are tipped to go all the way in the continental showpiece.
Maema and Co know that the work to even reach the semi-final of continental showpiece is half-done, though, hence they have to ensure that their eye-catching football yields results for them.
“Firstly, I’d like to say it’s very challenging, playing good football without something to show for it. It’s like playing good football without scoring,” Maema said ahead of the return leg at home to Belouizdad on Saturday afternoon.
“(But) I think that’s a motivation: whether we play away or home, we need to keep our standards. And that’s very good and challenging at the same time. (But) we must show it and get trophies.”
IOL Sport