In the build-up to the Olympics, soccer writer Njabulo Ngidi profiles players who will represent South Africa in Rio and Matshelane Mamabolo reminisces on a member of the Class of 2000 who played in the same position.
Today they look at Deolin Mekoa and Delron Buckley.
Johannesburg - Every time Deolin Mekoa has taken a move that looks like a step back, it has only propelled him to make a powerful leap forward.
That’s how he has gone from playing in the fourth tier of South African football three years ago to being an Olympian.
He will be playing in the biggest game of his life on Thursday when the national Under-23 team start their Olympics campaign against the hosts Brazil in their capital, Brasilia.
Games against Denmark and Iraq will follow after that in a tournament in which Mekoa and his teammates are targeting at least reaching the quarter-finals. To do that they have to finish in the top two of Group A.
A 16-year-old Mekoa did not entertain the idea that he would be in Brazil to play in the Olympics when Rio de Janeiro was announced as the hosts in 2009.
Mekoa was still at the School of Excellence then, almost ready to graduate without a clear path.
He decided to leave Johannesburg to return home to Wentworth, Durban. He played in the Castle League, which was a step down from the tournaments he played at the School of Excellence, where there were many scouts watching in an academy that laid the foundation for the careers of Steven Pienaar, Daine Klate and Bernard Parker, among others.
Playing in the fourth tier was the preparation Mekoa needed to make the jump to the Premier Division two seasons ago when Maritzburg United signed him. He started slowly, but once he found his feet was a force, dazzling with his left foot.
The 22-year-old can play on either flank and as a playmaker. His exploits have seen him attract interest from Kaizer Chiefs, but the Team of Choice were adamant that he was not for sale.
He was influential last season in their fight to avoid relegation, missing just five matches in their league campaign. The Team of Choice guaranteed their place in top-flight football on the last day of the 2015/16 season after spending most of that campaign at the bottom.
Dealing with that required mental strength, which Mekoa has in abundance because of his faith.
He has a tattoo of hands in prayer on his right arm, with a rosary dangling over them. They are most fitting in Rio, a city that has the statue of Christ the Redeemer towering over it.
In Sydney it was a case of buckle up, Buckley's firing
Take away his failure to convert that one-on-one chance against Slovakia in the final match, and Delron Buckley had a faultless Olympics.
A late inclusion into Shakes Mashaba’s “family” because of his excellent performances for Bafana Bafana, Buckley worked his socks off in each match and deserved much better than a first-round exit.
His speed and courage to attack the opposition head on were the catalyst for many exciting moments that the Sasol Super Squad provided in Australia.
Buckley was also good at changing the pace of the game and his crosses were of a high standard. If there had to be any criticism, it would be that he tended to hold on to the ball a little longer than necessary.
Yet given that he came into the squad on the strength of his brilliant showing for the senior national squad, it was perhaps understandable that Buckley felt he could take the game on his shoulders.
With just three caps for the under 23s going to the Olympics, Buckley’s inclusion in the squad surprised many. He had played in just one of the 10 qualifiers, the 3-1 defeat of Guinea at Vosloorus Stadium where he was not really impressive - coming off as he did 10 minutes after the break.
Yet there was no denying he was the country’s best left winger, given his showings for Bafana.
Never having played the game locally, but having started in Europe, the lad from Pietermaritzburg was never a home crowd favourite, even when he shone.
That never stopped him from giving his best and he proved his class at Sydney 2000.
He ended his career at Maritzburg United having earned 70 Bafana caps. He has since gone into coaching.
The Star