Andile Jali

Andile Ernest Jali (born 10 April 1990) is a South African professional soccer player who once played for Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and is currently signed to Moroka Swallows. He also plays for the South African national team.

Andile Jali
Personal information
Full name Andile Ernest Jali[1]
Date of birth (1990-04-10) 10 April 1990
Place of birth Matatiele, South Africa
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder,
Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Moroka Swallows
Number 15
Youth career
2002–2005 Hot Spurs
2006–2007 Matatiele Professionals
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Pretoria University 29 (1)
2009–2014 Orlando Pirates 98 (8)
2014–2018 K.V. Oostende 103 (1)
2018–2023 Mamelodi Sundowns 87 (1)
2023– Moroka Swallows 3 (0)
International career‡
2010– South Africa 44 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 August 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 September 2017

Club career

University of Pretoria

Mhlekazi, as his teammates refer to him, has made a name for himself since moving from the National First Division side Pretoria University to Soweto giants Orlando Pirates.

Orlando Pirates

He joined Orlando Pirates in 2009. He since became the subject of favourable comparisons to Benedict Vilakazi - who wore the number 15 jersey before Jali.

Jali was part of the Orlando Pirates squad that made history in South African football by winning three trophies in one season under Dutch coach Ruud Krol. The same team went on to defend two of their trophies won in the previous year and also win another to make it a back to back treble. Jali has established himself as one of the most important players in the Orlando Pirates squad, winning several trophies at his time at the club. Partly due to his success with the Soweto side, he was touted as the future captain of the South African national team (Bafana Bafana). He has also received acclaim for his performances with some analysts claiming he has the potential to make a name for himself in European football.

KV Oostende

In January 2014, Jali signed for Belgian Pro League team K.V. Oostende. During the 2015–16 season, he's second at the club; Jali was impressive, helping guide Oostende to a 5th-place finish in the Belgian Pro League.

International career

He was a member of the South African squad at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt.

He made his debut for South Africa in 2010. In 2010, Jali was named in the preliminary 30-man South African squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup but missed out on the 23-man squad because of a mild heart condition which ruled him out of the competition.[2]

During 2015, Jali was called up the 2015 African Cup of Nations, playing in South Africa's games against Algeria, Ghana and Senegal in the competition.

International goals
Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first.[3]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.4 September 2011Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey, Niger Niger1–21–22012 African Cup of Nations qualification
2.8 October 2015Estadio Edgardo Baltodano Briceño, Liberia, Costa Rica Costa Rica1–01–0Friendly
3.13 November 2015Estádio Nacional de Ombaka, Benguela, Angola Angola3–13–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.25 March 2017Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa Guinea-Bissau3–13–1Friendly
5.5 September 2017Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa Cape Verde1–21–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Orlando Pirates

Mamelodi Sundowns

Individual

PSL player of the season, Premier soccer League winner 2019 /2020 season with Sundowns. Nedbank cup 2020 with Sundowns.

References
  1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009™: List of Players: South Africa" (PDF). FIFA. 6 October 2009. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2009.
  2. "World Cup 2010: Benni McCarthy dropped by South Africa". BBC. 1 June 2010.
  3. "Jali, Andile". National Football Teams. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.