'When Mambush claps, you listen' – Ex-Sundowns star recalls

The South African

07-07-2025

Former Platinum Stars right-back Vuyo Mere has revealed that Mamelodi Sundowns legend Daniel 'Mambush' Mudau was known to slap misbehaving players.
In addition to being recognised for his scoring ability, many fans remember Mambush for his infamous slap of Charles Motlohi after the 2001 BP Top 8 final.
Last month, Mere shared his experiences from his time at Sundowns, discussing how he often misbehaved alongside his teammates.
Speaking on the Prime Sport with Mahlatse podcast, Mere recalled the days he and ex-Sundowns star Lerato Chabangu were slapped by Mambush.
'I was staying with Lerato Chabangu in Midrand, so we got accommodation and it's a three-bedroom flat. Lerato Chabangu is from Tembisa, I'm from Bloemfontein, so no one was going to tell Ace 'sleep my boy' because we are almost the same age,' Mere said.
'What used to happen was that Ace would go to Tembisa. He would call me and ask us to wash our cars in Tembisa. Once we got there, everybody knew us and we would relax and drink six, 12 or 18 beers before going back home around midnight.'
Mere said he and Chabangu would party until late, even though they had training the next morning.
'It started becoming a habit and we were often intoxicated at training, but the team was winning and we were getting away with it,' he said.
'Mambush started realising that we were coming to training not in a good state and he called me in, yoh,' Mere added. 'At some point, we got a hiding from Mambush in the dressing room. Yoh, the grootman slapped us.
'You know what he did to Charles Motlohi. It wasn't a mistake, the grootman can clap. He believed in us and he (Mudau wanted to help us before the situation got to the coaches and management,' Mere said.
Last year, former Sundowns star Charles Motlohi recalled the days he was slapped by Mambush.
'After the match ended, we had five penalty takers in our team. I spoke to Hluphe(Joas Magolego) and I said, 'man, you know the error I made last season, I'm asking you guys to take your penalty kicks, and I will be the last kicker, let's go'. While I was still speaking to Hluphe and the other player, Manzini walked over to the penalty area and took the penalty while we watched. He missed, Doctor (Cyril Nzama) scored and we lost the match.'
Motlohi said after Chiefs scored the winning penalty, Mudau and other Sundowns players came running to him.
'After the loss, I was the first one to leave the field but as I was walking down the tunnel, Mambush and the others came running to me. They were shouting and asking 'why are you guys cowards, why did you leave him to take the penalty?'. Because we lost, I didn't have the time or energy to explain why I opted not to take a penalty,' he said.
'I gave them my reasons based on the game against Celtic where I was accused of match fixing. Unfortunately, they didn't listen to me. That's when me and the brother had our exchange on the ground and dressing room.'
In recent years, there have been fewer stories of Sundowns players misbehaving, indicating that Mambush may have effectively dealt with those issues.
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