Mbulelo Mabizela

Mbulelo Mabizela

Personal information
Full name	Mbulelo Mabizela
Date of birth	16 September 1980 (1980-09-16) (age 31)
Place of birth	Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Bidvest Wits
Number	3
Youth career
	Edendale All Stars
	Ashdown Young Buccaneers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
0000–2001	Maritzburg City
2001–2003	Orlando Pirates	51	(4)
2003–2005	Tottenham Hotspur	7	(1)
2005–2006	Vålerenga	6	(0)
2006–2009	Mamelodi Sundowns	16	(0)
2009–2011	Platinum Stars	34	(0)
2011-	Bidvest Wits	0	(0)
National team‡
2001–	South Africa	44	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 May 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Mbulelo Mabizela (born 16 September 1980 in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal) is a South African footballer who plays as a midfielder and defender for Bidvest Wits and South Africa.

Nicknamed "Old John" for apparently showing maturity beyond his years, as he is the youngest player to captain the South African national team at the age of twenty. Whilst he has all the ability required to be an outstanding player with good pace, strength, composure on the ball with both feet and the timing of tackles, Mabizela has had a career littered with troubles.

Mabizela was released by Tottenham Hotspur after only fourteen months with the club for disciplinary problems in 2004, this followed him having been stripped of the Bafana Bafana captaincy for going AWOL a few months earlier. Other troubles have included a six month ban for the use of a banned substance in 2006 and in December 2008 a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. In July 2009 Platinum Stars made a decision to terminate his contract following further problems, but after a meeting with the team head coach Steve Komphela, Mabizela was allowed to continue his career with the club.

Club career

Mabizela began his senior club career with Orlando Pirates joining from Maritzburg City.

In August 2003 he joined Tottenham Hotspur after inspiring Pirates to a 2–1 win over Tottenham when the London club made a short tour of South Africa before the start of the 2003–2004 season. In October 2003 he scored his only goal for the club (although it was an absolute belter) in the league match against Leicester City.^[1]

In October 2004, He had his contract cancelled by Tottenham Hotspur and was released by mutual agreement following several disciplinary infractions, including missing training sessions. He made only nine appearances in total for the club, scoring an absolute wonder goal.

After a short trial with another London club Fulham he joined Vålerenga in Norway. Mabizela spent a season at the Norwegian club but rarely featured in their championship winning season and was released in June 2006.

In August 2006 he signed for the South African team Mamelodi Sundowns.

In December 2006, he received a six-month ban from the game for drug offences [1].

Following a number of disciplinary problems at Mamelodi Sundowns which resulted in him being made available for transfer, Mabizela found a new home in early 2009 when he signed a three year contract with Platinum Stars.

In June 2009 he was acquitted in the Pietermaritzburg magistrate court on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. At the time of his arrest, Mabizela was allegedly driving with a breath-alcohol level of 1,09 mg per 1 000 ml. The legal limit is 0,24 mg per 1 000 ml breath. Magistrate Dieter Schultz said Mabizela’s constitutional rights were not properly explained to him at his arrest and he was thus entitled to an acquittal.

In July 2009, Platinum Stars made an about-turn on their decision to terminate the contract of Mabizela. It was reported that the club had finally run out of patience with ‘OJ’, with his agent confirming they had received a letter confirming the termination of his deal with the team. However, after a lengthy meeting with head coach Steve Komphela, Mabizela was back with the team and was allowed to continue playing for the club.

On 7 June 2010 Mabizela was voted the Platinum Stars man of the match in the Stars 3–0 defeat to the England international team in their final warm-up game before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Before the match he gave an interview in which he said he was looking forward to meeting Ledley King and Jermain Defoe again, two England players he played alongside at Tottenham Hotspur. Also he talked about how he is steadily overcoming his personal problems, "I had a good start at Spurs but it was too short and that's something I'll always look back on with regret", said Mabizela. "I've made a lot of mistakes in my personal life, things I'd rather not elaborate upon, and that was the reason I had to leave Spurs". "When I came back to South Africa I went for help, I got help and I'm still being helped. I wouldn't say I'm okay but I feel I'm going forward now. Platinum Stars have really helped me and at the moment I feel that I've really moved on. I am ready to move on with my career, even possibly back to Europe and I'd like to play for the Bafana Bafana international team again".

International career

As of October 2006 he has played 44 international matches and scored 2 goals for the South Africa national team. At the age of 20 he became the youngest national team captain ever.

Call for International Return:- A call for his return to international football was made in early December 2009, Platinum Stars coach Steve Komphela says he is happy with the progress made by Mabizela and reiterated his call for his inclusion in the Bafana Bafana set-up. "Mabizela has done well at Stars since joining them and seemed to be keeping away from the bad press of late", Komphela was reported as saying, He continued "Yes I do feel Mabizela should be back in the national team now, He has been doing well and we all know his capabilities". A number of past and present Bafana international players backed the call for OJ's return in late January 2010 but the Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira was unmoved by any call for a return. When South Africa's provisional 30-man World Cup squad was named on 12 May 2010, Mabizela was not in the squad therefore ending any hope of a deserved return to the Bafana Bafana camp.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2004-06-05	Bloemfontein, South Africa	Cape Verde	1–0	2–1	World Cup qualifier
2	2004-06-05	Bloemfontein, South Africa	Cape Verde	2–0	2–1	World Cup qualifier

See also

• List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences

References

1. ^ "Spurs shock Leicester". BBC. 19 October 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3191438.stm. Retrieved 2 September 2009. 

External links

• (Dutch) Voetbal International
• Profile

Persondata
Name	Mabizela, Mbulelo
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	16 September 1980
Place of birth	Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Date of death
Place of death