Mamelodi Sundowns marksman Peter Shalulile (31) is looking forward to making history as the first Namibian to compete and score in the Fifa Club World Cup.
The expanded 32-club tournament is set for 14 June to 13 July in the United States, where he will lead South African champions Sundowns’ attack.
Sundowns are grouped with German side Borussia Dortmund, Brazilian outfit Fluminense FC and Korea Republic’s Ulsan HD in group G.
In an interview with Fifa.com this week, Shalulile said he was keen to get on the scoresheet and show what he is all about.
“It’s a wonderful feeling. You’re going to see some of the best players, the best teams, and you can also see how good you are,” he said.
“We are excited and ready for that. Thousands of people are going to be there. I know there will be butterflies (in my stomach), but eventually they will go away.”
Shining on the world stage will put not only him in the spotlight, it will amplify focus on his motherland and the African continent.
“Showcasing that talent on that level is another massive achievement, because you’ll be going into the [history] books to be known that there is a player from Namibia who scored in a Fifa Club World Cup,” said Shalulile, Namibia’s and Sundowns’ record-scorer.
He said playing at such a huge tournament would inspire many back home.
“They’ll be excited. They are waiting for that day when it’s going to kick off. They will be sat in their homes, glued to the TV screens, waiting to see their boy do well in the Club World Cup,” he said.
“If I can go there, it means anything is possible. I wish many more Namibians could reach this stage. The impact [of playing at the Club World Cup] is that they will know that anything they put their eyes on, their mind on, their heart on, it’s possible.”
Shalulile’s insatiable thirst for goals ties in with his club’s primary ambition at the tournament, which is to advance to the knock-out phase.
“The club’s goal is to make sure we make it out of the group stage. That’s the target. I expect us to do it, because we don’t just go into any competition to make up the numbers, but to be a team where they (the opposition) can also fear us,” he said.
He cites the never-say-die attitude of the Sundowns players as one of the key factors in their success over the years.
“In all those years, in ups and downs, we kept going because we knew where we saw ourselves. That’s how we will keep going,” said Shalulile, whose idol, Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, competes by the same values.
“He’s still the one I look up to, because he has that ‘never-say-die’ attitude. He’s shaped my life in terms of physicality, mentality, what to eat, and how to carry yourself.”
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