After a breakout season, Olwethu Makhanya is ready to be a leader for the Union

Olwethu Makhanya is just 21 years old, and this year will be his second as a regular player for the Union. But in a centerback unit with so many newcomers, that’s enough to qualify him as a veteran.

In fact, it’s enough to qualify him as a rising leader. Though Japhet Sery Larsen and Geiner Martínez are both older, Makhanya is the only one of the expected regulars who has played in Bradley Carnell’s system, and knows the Union’s standards on and off the field.

“We had two important players from the back line leaving the team,” he told The Inquirer, referring to centerback Jakob Glesnes and left back Kai Wagner. “So that leaves people like me who were here last season to try and take on leading, try to help the new guys coming in to understand what we try to do. So yeah, I feel like it’s a new challenge for me to try and be a leader, and lead the new guys.”

No position on the field requires more chemistry than centerback. Whether in a group of two (as the Union use) or three, each player must know where the others were, are, and will be, and often without being able to talk about it in real time.

That made it crucial to get Makhanya and Sery Larsen as many reps together as possible in the preseason, and that seemed to be achieved over the Union’s five games. Martínez arrived later, but he played in the last two games and was on the field with Makhanya in each.

“I feel like five games is enough,” Makhanya said. “Obviously it’s not going to be perfect from the start, but I feel like it’s going to be enough at least to prepare us for the start [of the season].”

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He has also enjoyed getting to know Sery Larsen and Martínez off the field.

“They’re very good people,” Makhanya said. “They’re already blending in with the team. Very good human beings, they work hard, [are] willing to learn, and that’s all we need as a team.”

Though Glesnes’ departure impacts Makhanya most directly, Wagner’s departure matters, too. There are no true left backs on the Union’s roster right now, and though the club is actively shopping for a new starter, whoever that is might not be ready when the MLS season kicks off Saturday against D.C United (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).

For now, Frankie Westfield and Nathan Harriel are platooning at the spot, since each has past experience there. Makhanya has had to adjust to that, and will have to adjust again when the new signing arrives.

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“Looking at the way that we play, the system, the style of play,” Makhanya said, “I feel like the guys that we have at the moment … everyone can be able to play those positions. As long as they’re able to take in the instructions from the coach, we should be fine.”

Longtime Union fans will know that it’s been a regular theme in these pages over the years that the Union need to have more than two starting-caliber centerbacks, so they can be rotated over the season to stay fresh. That will be very important again this season, with the club’s return to the Champions Cup now and MLS’s Leagues Cup in late summer.

Any player wants to play, of course, but veterans know the importance of the long haul. So it’s to Makhanya’s credit that he’s willing to take a seat for a night if needed.

“I’d be OK,” he said. “As long as it’s something that’s going to help the team, I’d be fine with it.”

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It’s not surprising that Makhanya has grown a bond with manager Bradley Carnell. Along with both being South Africa natives, Carnell took a leap of faith to make Makhanya a starter last year when he hadn’t played a second for the first team yet.

That faith was rewarded with a major role in the Union winning the Supporters’ Shield, and doing so with a return to the stingy defense they cherish.

“I feel like the relationship I have with him is really amazing,” Makhanya said. ”He’s a great human being, he’s a good teacher, his instructions are very clear, he’s a very understanding person. So because of who he is, it it’s very easy to work with him.”

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Asked what his goals are for this year, Makhanya started with some humor.

“Firstly for myself, I think I’m going to score a couple of goals this season on set pieces,” he said. He scored twice last year, including a dramatic game-winner in the U.S. Open Cup round-of-16 comeback against Red Bull New York.

But Makhanya meant it when he said he wants to improve his aerial presence this year and “get a few headers” on free kicks and corners. He proved it right away, too, with a headed goal off a corner kick in the season-opening win at Defence Force FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

“And then for the group, we obviously have very high expectations, because we already know what we can do,” he said. “So we’re just trying to maintain that and try to find a way forward, and we take it a game at a time.”

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There could be one more goal, too, beyond the Union. South Africa’s national team is in the World Cup for the first time since hosting in 2010. Fans and media back home have noticed Makhanya’s success, and have criticized the Bafana Bafana’s staff for thinking less of MLS than perhaps it should.

Carnell, who played for his country at the 2002 tournament, is well aware — and not pleased. Makhanya was diplomatic about it when asked, at least at first.

“I mean, not even being part of the national team last season was kind of disappointing for me, you know, but it’s just a motivation at the same time,” he said. “So yeah, it’s something that’s been in my mind that I’m looking forward to.”

But he added a few choice words a moment later.

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“I think they do [look at MLS], but I feel like they don’t really have that much respect for the league,” Makhanya said. “So I guess that’s why I’m maybe not part of the squad, but I can’t really know.”

If he starts this season as well as he played last year, there might be even more people hoping for a better answer.