Leaders of men Awol in the Pirates dressing room
AN audience with Benni McCarthy made one thing apparent.
His love for Orlando Pirates is deeper that the raging ocean the Sea Robbers ship is currently navigating with difficulty.
Asked about his feelings on how poor Pirates have been this season, McCarthy delivered a one worder: Devastated.
“As a former Buccaneer, I’m devastated especially for the significance of this year, the 80th anniversary.” For the club’s 75th birthday, McCarthy and company delivered a double treble. No excuse.
“Now I don’t really wanna talk about Pirates because it is another team, there’s a manager there and I feel like I’m not in a position to talk. “But I’m just talking from my experience as a Pirates player and what was expected from me and every other player in that dressing room. If we go out on that pitch and we don’t play to our full potential, we are not worthy of wearing that shirt.”
These words are similar to those that have been expressed by Lucky Lekgwathi, the evergreen captain who retired and ventured into the funeral parlour business.
These words have also been spoken by Moeneeb Josephs. McCarthy painted a picture of typical half-time happenings in the Pirates dressing room during the trio’s time there, especially during the heady days of the double treble.
“Come half time, we didn’t pull our weight, we’d be digging each other. Hey you, this is not a spaza shop or mickey mouse where you come from. This is Orlando Pirates.
“Nothing but 100% is good enough. 100% is the minimum required here. You must play out of your skin for this team.”
If there’s anything in common between McCarthy, Lekgwathi and Josephs in my conversations with them, it was their clear comprehension of the meaning of being adorned in black and white. It is the same commitment one got from Cyril Nzama, Brian Baloyi and Doctor Khumalo, son of Eliakim, when it came to being covered in Kaizer Chiefs colours.
They were so successful because the privilege and honour of wearing the Bucs badge on the Chiefs crest on their chests was not lost on them. They were cognisant of the contribution made by those before them: Eric “Scara” Sono and his son Jomo, Percy “Chippa” Moloi and his son Tebogo, Kaizer Motaung, to name but five Buccaneers of yesteryear. “But this crop now, haai wena,” laments Benni. “I think there’s no more characters in that Pirates dressing room. The personalities you’ll find there you’ll find on instagram.
“And it is a shame because I see the talent they have there, yeses, some of the best players in the country. But how they can’t be able to work as a unit, as a team and win things. There is no leadership in the dressing room.
“There is no [Siyabonga “Nsimbi”] Sangweni, when he gives you one look without saying a word, you say to yourself Nsimbi is looking at me, let me go out there and sprint 10 times faster than I did in the first half. Rooi Mahamutsa was the joker but when it came down to it he demanded nothing but the best from all of us. We had characters and leaders of men there.” Can the same be said of the current crop? To say the Sea Robbers have been shambolic would be showering them with praise. The leaders have taken leave of absence in the dressing room of the Buccaneers. All this ahead of the Nedbank Cup final against SuperSport United at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.