Peter Shalulile will go down as one of the best strikers to ever play in the PSL and, in fact, has a strong case of one day being the best to ever do it in the league.
But this opinion piece is not only about Shalulile, but I must make it clear that it was inspired by him. At times, I feel we should have a little fun with his column and not only focus on the serious things in football. So today, after watching Shalulile reach 100 PSL club goals over the past weekend, I thought should share five strikers who I think are the best.
I love strikers who score. It doesn't matter how or which angle you score them from. As long as the ball rattles the back of the net. That naturally ability to score regularly and be at the right place at the right time is what I love the most.
1. Daniel Mudau
At the top of my list is Mamelodi Sundowns legend Daniel Mudau. 'Mambush' was born to finish and I think at times he is not given the respect he deserves when some of the legends of the game are discussed. We are in a time where we don't get too many South African born strikers scoring consistently, season in and season out, but Mudau made it look so easy during his time. And the fact that he is one of the select few to have over 100 goals in the PSL, excluding the ones he scored in the previous era, tells you how good the man was. He was definitely one of a kind.
2. Lesley Manyathela
Whenever I think of Manyathela, I smile and think of the times he would jump over the advertising boards and do the famous celebration with his two fingers circling his ears. The man was deadly in front of goal and is one of the South African born strikers I feel had a rare talent of finding the back of the net almost week in and out. I always wonder how far he could have gone had the car accident not taken him away from us. Each time I talk about him, I refer to him as 'Phuti'. What a guy!
3. Peter Shalulile
When he missed out on breaking Collins Mbesuma's record last season, I felt for him because he certainly had the potential to do it. It's refreshing to see a striker who can score 20 goals or more in three consecutive seasons and, for me, that's why Shalulile features on this list of my all time favourite strikers. There are strikers in the PSL who go throughout their entire careers without hitting the double digit mark in a season and this is why I feel the Namibian should be held in high regard for what he is doing at Sundowns. Shalulile is the type of striker who can score all kinds of goals, and with both feet and the head as well.
4. Collins Mbesuma
Best remembered for the 35 goals he scored in one season at Kaizer Chiefs in 2004/05, Mbesuma is another who holds a record of over 100 goals in the PSL. He went to play his football abroad and still came back to show. While he was not as lethal as he was before going overseas, the Zambian still showed his quality and got to the 100 goal milestone.
5. Dennis Lota
Orlando Pirates have never found a foreign striker quite as lethal as the man who was famously known as 'Chesa Mpama'. The late Lota was an incredibly talented striker and I liked the fact that he was good with his feet. He was not just a striker who needed to wait in the box for his teammates to supply. He could get things done himself by going deep and beating the opposition defenders with skill before finding the back of the net.
Other mentions: Pollen Ndlanya, Siyabonga Nomvethe and Katlego Mphela were some of the other strikers I enjoyed watching.
What do you think? Share your top five PSL strikers below!
