Mamelodi Sundowns winger Keagan Dolly has become the first South African to be named in the CAF Team of the Year starting XI.

That comes as no surprise to Platinum Stars coach Cavin Johnson who has known Dolly since he was a boy. Dolly used to be a standout performer for Westbury Arsenal's junior team, so says Johnson, who also hails from the area in Johannesburg. Johnson first noticed Dolly around 2002 and was impressed with the left winger.

"I think he was eight or nine. At the time I was coaching at the School of Excellence and we used to go around looking for players," said Johnson.

"I watched some games at Bosmont ground and that's where I saw Keagan. He eventually went to the School of Excellence. I never worked with Keagan but I know him.

"I know his family because Westbury is a small community."

Johnson reveals that Dolly, who is now 23, couldn't be ignored even as a youngster.

"The thing with eight-year olds is that they are all over the place, but you always see the ones that stand out.

"That was what I saw from Keagan at the time and credit has to go to the people who took him out of Westbury to the School of Excellence."

The Dikwena mentor believes Dolly has a great future but has urged the player to keep his feet on the ground in order to reach the highest level, like playing in the big European leagues.

"I think he needs to take it one step at a time. In one moment, it shows we have the quality and that is about getting the country back on the map," Johnson added.

Dolly, who's embroiled in a dispute with Sundowns over his contract buyout clause, finds himself in exalted company with the likes of Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez in the best XI for the past year.

CAF Team of the Year

Denis Onyango (Uganda & Sundowns);

Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast & Paris Saint-Germain);

Aymen Abdennour (Tunisia & Valencia);

Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast & Manchester United);

Joyce Lomalisa (DR Congo & AS Vita);

Khama Billiat (Zimbabwe & Sundowns);

Rainford Kalaba (Zambia & TP Mazembe);

Keagan Dolly (SA & Mamelodi Sundowns);

Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Leicester City);

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Borussia Dortmund);

Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool).