Siphesihle Ndlovu (born 30 September 1996) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a

midfielder 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

Premier Soccer League Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

side

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 ...

and the South Africa national team. An academy graduate of

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 ...

, he made his professional debut in 2016 and went on to make over 80 appearances for the club. During the 2017–18 season, he helped the club to record-high fourth-place finish in the league and was rewarded for his form with the Young Player of the Season award. At the end of the following season, he joined Orlando Pirates. He is a fan favorite in Pietermaritzburg and his nickname is Mbesuma. Ndlovu is also a full international since March 2018 and has represented South Africa at a COSAFA Cup.

Club career

Maritzburg United

Having previously been a ball-boy for the club, Ndlovu joined the youth academy of

from the now defunct Umgungundlovu Academy of Sport in Pietermaritzburg. He excelled during his time in the club's academy where he played in the SAB League and earned the nickname Mbesuma, in reference to former PSL top goalscorer,

Collins Mbesuma Collins Mbesuma (born 3 February 1984) is a Zambian professional footballer who plays for South African club Pretoria Callies. He is nicknamed ''The Hurricane'' or ''Ntofontofo''. Club career Mbesuma was born in Luanshya. His father, Franci ...

. In 2016, he was promoted to senior side by coach

Roger De Sa Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...

alongside Mlondi Dlamini and Tso Motjatji. He made his debut for the club on 22 October 2016 when he came on as a substitute for Denis Weidlich in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

loss to Kaizer Chiefs in the

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's premier club soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of giving lower league and amateur teams a chance t ...

. His league debut followed on 20 December in a 1–1 draw with

Bidvest Wits Bidvest Wits Football Club, (simply often known as Wits University F.C. or Wits) was a South African professional football club from Johannesburg which played in the Premier Soccer League the first-tier of South African league football system ...

and he went on to make 18 appearances across all competitions for the season. Ndlovu enjoyed a stellar campaign under Fadlu Davids during the 2017–18 season in which he helped the club to an historic league finish. In January 2018, he became the first-ever player from Maritzburg United to win the Absa Premiership Player of the Month award and two months later was rewarded with a new long-term contract with the club, ending speculation linking him with a

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

away. He then made his 50th appearance for the club on 25 April when he started in a 2–2 draw with

Mamelodi Sundowns Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premier Soccer League, the first tier of South African football ...

. The following month, he featured in the Nedbank Cup final where Maritzburg United were defeated 1–0 by

Free State Stars Free State Stars Football club is a South African professional football club based in Bethlehem, Free State that plays in the National First Division. Formerly known as Makwane Computer Stars and Qwa Qwa Stars, their most significant honour ...

. The season culminated with Maritzburg United ending fourth in the league; their highest ever finish with their highest ever points tally. On 21 May, following a campaign in which he played in all but three matches, scored five goals and was the most fouled player in the league, Ndlovu was nominated for a host of PSL awards including the awards for Midfielder of the Season, Young Player of the Season and Footballer of the Season. He was also nominated for the Most Promising Player award for his performances in the Nedbank Cup. The award ceremony was held eight days later during which he walked away with the Midfielder of the Season and Young Player of the Season awards. Ahead of the following season, Ndlovu reportedly agreed to a deal in principle to sign with

at the end of the campaign. He struggled for form during the first half of the season and picked up his first professional

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

when he received a direct dismissal for a studs-up challenge on Kaizer Chiefs defender Siyabonga Ngezana in August. His struggles coincided with those of the Maritzburg United's who ended the domestic season second last in the league standings, having gone through three managers. As a result, the club was forced to take part in the promotion play-offs in which Ndlovu scored once to ensure they maintained their top-flight status.

Orlando Pirates

On 12 June 2019, Ndlovu confirmed that he had signed a three-year deal with

. Upon making the announcement, he informed media that he had never signed any agreement with Sundowns and that his reason for joining Pirates was that the club's style of play suited his abilities.

International career

South Africa

In March 2018, Ndlovu was called up to the South African national team for the first time by coach Stuart Baxter for the inaugural Four Nations Invitational Tournament. He made his debut on 21 March, coming on as a second-half substitute for Maphosa Modiba in a 1–1 (7–6) penalty shootout win over

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. He made his first start three days later as South Africa beat hosts

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

2–0 to claim the title. Later that year he was named in Baxter's squad for the 2018 COSAFA Cup. He started in South Africa's opening match in the competition, a

loss to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. He featured throughout the tournament as South Africa went on to lift the Plate title, equivalent of a fifth-placed finish.

Career statistics

Club

¹ Includes

matches.
² Includes

Telkom Knockout The Telkom Knockout was a South African professional football knockout competition which comprised the 16 teams in the South African Premier Soccer League. The competition was established in 1982 and was first known as the Datsun Challenge. Unde ...

matches.
⁴ Includes MTN 8 and PSL promotion play-off matches.

International

Honours

Individual

* PSL Player of the Month: January 2018 * PSL Young Player of the Season: 2017–18 * PSL Midfielder of the Season: 2017–18

Orlando Pirates F.C

2019 * MTN 8

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ndlovu, Siphesihle 1996 births Living people South African soccer players Association football midfielders Maritzburg United F.C. players Orlando Pirates F.C. players SuperSport United F.C. players South African Premier Division players Sportspeople from Pietermaritzburg South Africa international soccer players