Monnapule Saleng (born 13 March 1999) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Orlando Pirates and the South Africa national team. He was named MTN 8 Last Man Standing and DSTV Premiership Players' Player Of The Season at the 2023 PSL Awards.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Monnapule Saleng[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 13 March 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Bloemhof, Boitumelong | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Right winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Orlando Pirates | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| – | – | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| –2019 | Matatwngnnt College | 27 | (18) |
| 2019–2021 | Free State Stars | 52 | (17) |
| 2021– | Orlando Pirates | 39 | (14) |
| 2021–2022 | → Moroka Swallows (loan) | 22 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021– | South Africa | 9 | (3) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:29, 5 December 2022 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editHaving started his career at Orbit College in the SAFA Second Division, Saleng joined Free State Stars in 2019.[2][3] He was the top scorer in the 2020–21 National First Division, scoring 13 goals in 29 matches.[4][3]
Saleng signed for South African Premier Division club Orlando Pirates in July 2021, but spent the 2021–22 season on loan at Moroka Swallows, where he scored twice in 22 league appearances.[5] He returned to Pirates for the 2022–23 season, where he became a first-team regular, scoring five goals in eight matches in the opening half of the season.[6]
International career
editSaleng was part of the South Africa squad at the 2021 COSAFA Cup, starting in the opening 1–0 victory against Botswana.[7] In total, he made 6 appearances as South Africa won the tournament.[1][8]
In November 2022, Saleng was included in the South Africa squad for two friendly fixtures against Angola and Mozambique.[6]
Career statistics
edit- As of 05 June 2024
| Club | Season | League | Nedbank Cup | MTN8 | Continental[a] | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Moroka Swallows FC | 2021–2022 | South African Premier Division | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | 29 | 2 |
| Orlando Pirates | 2022–2023 | South African Premier Division | 22 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | 30 | 15 | |
| 2023–2024 | South African Premier Division | 17 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 5 | |
| Total | 39 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 20 | ||
| Career total | 61 | 16 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 86 | 22 | ||
Notes
edit- ^ Appearance(s) in CAF Champions League, CONCACAF Champions League
References
edit- ^ a b c "Monnapule Saleng". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ McLennan, Anthony (10 November 2022). "Has Orlando Pirates' Saleng become the next Lorch?". Goal.com. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ a b "South Africa - M. Saleng - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ Msomi, Smiso (28 October 2022). "Saleng takes PSL campaign by storm". The Star. Retrieved 5 December 2022 – via PressReader.
- ^ Ditlhobolo, Austin (16 November 2022). "Saleng: Bafana Bafana winger explains why he had to leave Orlando Pirates for Soweto rival". Goal.com. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ a b Baleka, Mihlali (16 November 2022). "Saleng eager to be a Bafana regular". The Star. Retrieved 5 December 2022 – via PressReader.
- ^ Appolis, Dylan (6 July 2021). "Bafana Bafana off to winning start in Cosafa Cup opener". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ "Bafana Bafana are Cosafa Cup 2021 Champions". sapeople.com. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2022.