Youngster making waves in SA football
Although Christiano is still just a teen, he has already represented his country at junior level.
Bafana Bafana might want to remember the name Christiano Jerrad von Meullen, a 15-year-old defender and footballer who is making waves.
Christiano is currently enrolled in the South African Football Association (SAFA) Transnet School of Excellence where he is identified as a talented player.
According to the school’s Facebook page, they are a premier football high school educating and developing future South African footballers. Christiano plays for the school’s U15 team as a centre back but he represented the national team (in the same age group) as a right-back.
Being an active football player, Christiano has big dreams in 2024. Not only does he feature in the Gauteng Development League but he already represented his country at junior level. He now aims to become captain of the U17 national team and improve his skills as he goes.
The maestro explained that he first fell in love with the game at a very young age and developed an extreme fascination with the sport after his father joined the Toekies Sports Team. Christiano further stated that wherever the team went, he always tagged along. It was during this period that he felt inspired and decided to partake in the sport.
Besides running out for his country, Christiano’s proudest achievement is winning Best Defender of the Year for three consecutive years during the Transnet School of Excellence’s 2023 Awards.
“Talent doesn’t work hard but hard work beats talent,” Christiano commented.
Clayton von Meullen describes himself as a proud father and states that Christiano is a humble and focused individual.
“Christiano has been crazy about soccer from a very young age. I was a coach and he always travelled everywhere I went with my team. At the moment we are not in a hurry. There are multiple teams interested in Christiano, but our sole focus at the moment is developing his skills for the next three years,” Clayton said.
