The best of his generation?
The decision by Pitso Mosimane to bring Andile Jali to Mamelodi Sundowns generated doubts upon the completion of his first season at Chloorkop, back in the Premier Soccer League after a four-year stay at Belgian club KVV Oostende.
There was the feeling that Jali would never reach the level he attained at Orlando Pirates, when he made bossing the midfield such a habit through Pirates’ best years of the PSL era when they won six trophies in two seasons.
Jail only played eight full matches in his first campaign at Sundowns, something that raised many eyebrows.
But his coach at the time, Mosimane, wasn’t bothered by the critics who felt the midfielder was only back in South Africa to enjoy the fat paycheque he was on at the club.
Jail’s response was emphatic, playing from start to end in all the 10 CAF Champions’League games before rolling up his sleeves to play in another 26 games on the domestic scene.
He went on with the same pace even when Mosimane was gone last term and based on his start to the new campaign, he will blow the roof this season if he can stay fit.
