Former Masandawana defender, Matthew Booth knows the Sundowns way as well as anybody. Which puts him in a very good position to give his views on where Bongani Zungu, who has been struggling for game time, should fit in at Sundowns.
“Bongani Zungu has played at Sundowns before. He can play as a playmaker or as a link between the number six and number eights,” Matthew Booth told ThisIsFootball.Africa.
“I feel he could also play as a number eight because he is a very versatile player. The way that Sundowns rotate and change formations with their number eights and their attacking players, sometimes even playing with a false nine, makes it that they have many attacking options for Zungu to fit into.
“But he can also sit deeper in a playmaker number six role. There is lots of competition in the squad for Zungu to battle through and therefore there is no surprise that he has not had a hell of a lot of game time yet. It’s a case of him adapting to the team again since he has come back, and again its similar to the Allende situation. Zungu is going to have plenty of time to settle in and he will eventually get more game time.”
Whilst at KaboYellow, Booth made a loan move from Loftus Versfeld to the Rostov Arena at FC Rostov, and eventually signed a permanent deal after his loan had ended. He also went on to play for KS Samara in Russia and it is in that country where he made most of his appearances overseas.
“Another new player that has been unlucky is Nasir. Him getting injured was quite a blow for him personally because he was just beginning to hit his stride at Sundowns,” continued Booth.
“He hit the ground running and had an immediate impact and then got injured. I’m very excited by the possibility of him playing alongside Shalulile. Although initially you would think not by the way Sundowns play, because when Shalulile is fit he would normally play on his own as a number nine.
“If they chase the game and they want to be audacious and change things up and play with two nines’, then I think Nasir and Shalulile can be a good partnership. I watched him in the Ethiopian League. They have very bumpy pitches but still he maintained a good touch. Nasir is good with his left and right foot. He is very busy player and energetic in the press. They’re going to look forward to having him back as soon as possible.”
