May Mahlangu

May Mahlangu (born 1 May 1989) is a South African professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder.

May Mahlangu
Mahlangu playing for Helsingborgs IF in 2012
Personal information
Full name May Sphiwe Mahlangu
Date of birth (1989-05-01) 1 May 1989
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

Club career

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]

International career

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]

Career statistics

Club
As of 13 February 2019[13]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Division League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental[lower-alpha 2] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
IFK Hässleholm 2008 Division 2 61——61
2009 10500—105
Total 1660000166
Helsingborgs IF 2009 Allsvenskan 801010100
2010 19330—223
2011 2846140385
2012 30010120430
2013 13050—180
Total 9871611701318
IFK Göteborg 2014 Allsvenskan 2450062307
Konyaspor 2014–15 Süper Lig 10120—121
Sint-Truiden 2015–16 Belgian Pro League 18210—192
Dinamo București 2016–17 Liga I 22051—271
2017–18 3522020392
2018–19 5100—51
Total 6237120714
Ludogorets Razgrad 2018–19 First League 41102071
Ludogorets Razgrad II 2018–19 Second League 30——30
Ordabasy (loan) 2019 Kazakhstan Premier League 2932040353
Ordabasy 2020 Kazakhstan Premier League 00000000
Career total 2642829231232433
  1. Includes Cupa României, Cupa Ligii, Supercupa României, Bulgarian Cup and Bulgarian Supercup.
  2. Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

International
As of 7 July 2019[14]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
South Africa 201261
201371
201520
201630
Total182
Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mahlangu goal.
List of international goals scored by May Mahlangu
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
122 December 2012Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa Malawi3–13–1Friendly
227 January 2013Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa Morocco1–12–22013 Africa Cup of Nations

Honours

Helsingborgs IF

Dinamo Bucharest

Individual

  • Allsvenskan Player of the Year: 2011

References
  1. "May Mahlangu". starsofafricafootballacademy.com. Stars of Africa Football Academy. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  2. "May visade framfötterna". kristianstadsbladet.com (in Swedish). Kristianstadsbladet. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  3. "Afrikanska diamanter slipas i IFK Hässleholm". skanskan.se (in Swedish). Skånskan. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  4. "Mahlangu kan ersätta Landgren". hd.se (in Swedish). Helsingborgs Dagblad. Archived from the original on 14 August 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  5. "May Mahlangu - Årets allsvenska spelare!". hif.se (in Swedish). Helsingborgs IF. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  6. "Mahlangu klar för IFK Göteborg" (in Swedish). IFK Göteborg. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  7. "Лудогорец представи Мей Махлангу и Жуниор Брандао" (in Bulgarian). ludogorets.com. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  8. "Официально: Механович и Махлангу продлили контракты с "Ордабасы"" (in Russian). kazfootball.kz. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  9. "May debuterade i landslaget". hif.se (in Swedish). Helsingborgs IF. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  10. "Afrikanska mästerskapen för May Mahlangu". hif.se (in Swedish). Helsingborgs IF. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  11. "Mahlangu banned from Bafana". www.sport24.co.za. sport24. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  12. "May Mahlangu banned from playing for South Africa after asking to be rested". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  13. "May Mahlangu". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  14. "May Mahlangu". National Football Teams. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
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