Mandla Masango (born July 18, 1989) is a South African

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who most recently played as a

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. Masango represented

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

at various youth levels and has been a full international since making his senior debut in 2013.

Club career

Kaizer Chiefs

Masango joined

Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) are a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premier Soccer League. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Lords" or "Chie ...

in 2007 ahead of the

2007–08 Premier Soccer League The following is the final results of the 2007–08 Premier Soccer League football season in South Africa. Final table Awards PSL * Footballer of the Year Teko Modise (Orlando Pirates) * Chairman’s Award Musa Otieno (Santos) * Refer ...

season. He made his debut against

Thanda Royal Zulu Thanda Royal Zulu was a South African football club based in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. History The club started after a Swedish consortium that included Sven-Goran Eriksson bought the franchise from Benoni Premier United at the end of the 2006 ...

on 15 August 2007, scoring the Chiefs' first goal in a 2–0 win. He has gradually become a regular in the club's first team, making ten league appearances in 2009–10, before playing 20 league games in 2010–11. He has played twice so far in the 2011–12 season. Masango also scored for Kaiser Chiefs in their 2–0 win over

Mpumalanga Black Aces Black Aces were a South African football club that played in the Premier Soccer League. Aces usually played their home games in the Mpumalanga province but were based and trained in Johannesburg. History The original club was founded in 1937 by ...

on 24 February 2010, again opening the scoring. In the 2012–13 season where Chiefs won a league and cup double, Masango played only nine league games. In 2013–14, he made his

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and co ...

debut against

Black Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the African co ...

and scored a scissor kick from a

Knowledge Musona Knowledge Musona (born 21 June 1990) is a Zimbabwean professional footballer who plays as a left winger or forward for Al-Tai in the Saudi Professional League, and captains the Zimbabwe national team. Previously, he has played senior football ...

cross in the 3-0 win. He also came off the bench in the

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, premier club association football, soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of givi ...

Last 16 match and scored a diving header against

ABC Motsepe League ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

side

FC Buffalo FC Buffalo is an American association football, soccer club based in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, New York (state), New York, United States, with teams in men's and women's soccer. Founded in 2009, the men's team plays in the National Premier So ...

. At the end of the season, he attracted interest from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

club,

Landskrona BoIS Landskrona Boll och Idrottsällskap ( en, Landskrona Ball and Sports Society, locally referred to as BoIS) is a Swedish professional football club located in Landskrona, Scania, which currently plays in Superettan, the second league tier of fo ...

which already had a

n in their team with Bradley Ralani. He also received an offer from

but the deal was put on ice after they found out about his high salary. He was also on the verge of being loaned to

Ajax Cape Town Cape Town Spurs F.C. (formerly known as Ajax Cape Town) is a South African professional football club based in Parow in the city of Cape Town that plays in the National First Division. Dutch Eredivisie club AFC Ajax was their parent club and m ...

Moroka Swallows Moroka Swallows Football Club (often known as simply Swallows or The Birds) is a South African professional football club based in Soweto in the city of Johannesburg in the Gauteng province. Founded in 1947, Swallows are one of the original two ...

. Masango started off the 2014–15 season with a brace in a 4-0 win over

in the MTN8. He scored his first league goal of 2014–15 in a 2–1 win over

on 13 August 2013. He also scored a solitary goal against

Bloemfontein Celtic Bloemfontein Celtic Football Club (simply known as Celtic) is a South African amateur football club based in Bloemfontein that competes in the ABC Motsepe League, the third tier of the South African football league system. Bloemfontein Celtic has ...

in the 81st minute on 19 August 2014. On 11 September 2014, Masango and

Stuart Baxter Stuart William Baxter (born 16 August 1953) is a British football manager and former player who most recently managed South African Premier Soccer League side Kaizer Chiefs. Born in England of Scottish parentage, and brought up in both countr ...

were named ABSA Premiership Player and Coach of the Month. After being rested against

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

, he played in the 1–0 win over

Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...

in the MTN8 2014 Final. Masango scored a solitary penalty goal in the 45th minute against

Maritzburg United Maritzburg United is a South African football club based in the city of Pietermaritzburg that currently plays in the Premier Soccer League. Honours *First Division Coastal Stream champions: 2007–08 *First Division Championship Play-offs: 2 ...

on 27 September 2014. Masango eventually attracted the interest of

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

club

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

which hoped to sign him in January or the end of 2014–15 shouldn't his contract be extended. The club planned to send a representative for the then upcoming

Soweto derby The Soweto Derby is a football rivalry between Premier Soccer League's Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in South Africa. It was first contested on 24 January 1970. Matches between the two rivals attract a large fanbase. The rivalry is recogn ...

but was postponed as it was on the day of the funeral of the late South African national team captain

Senzo Meyiwa Senzo Robert Meyiwa (24 January 1984 – 26 October 2014) was a South African professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and captain for both Orlando Pirates in the Premier Soccer League, and the South Africa national team. He was sho ...

. The club later revealed that Rennes would send a scout to watch him at the

2015 African Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was org ...

. On his last Chiefs match, Masango scored a header on 9 May 2015 in a 2–0 win over

Chippa United Chippa United Football Club (often known as Chilli boys or Chippa) is a South African professional football club based in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape province, having previously being based in Nyanga suburb of the city of Cape Town. The club' ...

. Masango attracted the likes of

, Anorthorsis Famagusta and

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

Randers

On 13 August 2015 it was announced that Masango had reach an agreement with

Style of play

Masango is of lean and diminutive build.

Muhsin Ertugral Muhsin (also spelled Mohsen, Mohsin, Mehsin, or Muhsen, ar, محسن) is a masculine Arabic given name. The first person known to have the name "Muhsin" was Muhsin bin Ali, the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah bint Muhammad. Islamic term I ...

who signed Masango in 2007 compared him to ''maverick genius''

Jabu Pule Jabu Jeremiah Mahlangu (formerly Jabu Jeremiah Pule) (born 11 July 1980 in Daveyton, Gauteng) is a retired South African football (soccer) midfielder who last played for Supersport United. Club career South Africa Pule's first club was Kaiz ...

who he said had ''ability to read and change the game, and create spaces as well as bravely take on defenders''. Masango plays as a right winger, secondary striker and also as an attacking midfielder. Masango was also described as Le

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

Noir. FifaPlayerRatings.com suggests that Masango would excel more as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for his "better finishing ability than most midfielders" and "above average balance" and ranks him in the top 20% of attacking players in

FIFA 15 ''FIFA 15'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released on 23 September 2014 in North America, 25 September in Europe and 26 September in the United Kingdom ...

and the 270th best Right Midfielder in the game.

Personal life

Masango has a diploma in General Management and is currently studying project management at Boston City Campus.

International career

International goals

:''Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first.''

U-17 and U-20

Masango has the unusual distinction of having scored on his debut for every national side he has represented. He made three appearances, scoring twice, for South Africa U-17 before moving on to the U-20 team, where he played four times, three of these games coming at the

2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which was hosted by Egypt from 24 September to 16 October 2009. The tournament was initially going to take place between 10 and 31 July. However, the 2009 FIFA Confedera ...

. Masango scored a consolation in the 6–1 defeat to Germany U-20 on 5 September 2009, in a World Cup warm-up match.

U-20 appearances and goals

U-23

Masango played for the U-23 team, scoring on his debut in the 2–1 win over

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

to ensure South Africa's qualification for the

All Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...

. The midfielder also scored against

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

on 26 May 2011 in a 1–0 friendly win, and against

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

in a 5–0 victory on 18 March 2011. He made his senior debut on 17 July 2013 on the eve of his birthday against

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

and was unfortunate having not scored on debut like he did for the junior national teams. He scored in his second match in the

2013 COSAFA Cup The 2013 COSAFA Cup, sponsored by South African Breweries and officially named the 2013 COSAFA Castle Cup, was the 14th edition of the COSAFA Cup, an international football competition consisting of national teams of member nations of the Council o ...

3rd and 4th place playoff on 20 July 2013 against

. South Africa won 2-1 finishing third with a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

. Masango earned a call-up after his good form for

AFCON The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

qualifiers against

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. He claimed that his call up was "destiny" and that Sudan was his lucky charm. Masango's first call-up in international football came nine years ago against Sudan when he represented the South Africa Under-17 team in a 2005 Under-17 Youth Championship qualifier. The game was played at the same

Al-Merrikh Stadium Al-Merrikh Stadium, also known as the Red Castle, is a multi-use stadium in Omdurman, Sudan, used mostly for football matches and also sometimes for athletics. Established in 1962. The stadium is used mostly for football games and is considered t ...

where South Africa played their 2015 African Nations Cup Group A opener against the Sudan. He played in the 3–0 win over

and 0–0 draw over

. Masango scored a stunning goal referred to as a "stepback volley" against

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

in the

Group C final clash and made rounds in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and has been compared to

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

James Rodriguez James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

famous volley in the 2-0 victory over

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

in last in the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Bleacher Report described the goal as "ridiculous, outrageous and impossibly perfect".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masango, Mandla 1989 births Living people People from Thembisile Hani Local Municipality South African soccer players South African expatriate soccer players South Africa international soccer players Kaizer Chiefs F.C. players Randers FC players Danish Superliga players Association football midfielders 2011 CAF U-23 Championship players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark South African expatriate sportspeople in Denmark