Orlando Pirates
Can youngster Boitumelo Radiopane be the ‘next Benni McCarthy’? His former coaches certainly think so ...
The coach who originally discovered Boitumelo Radiopane is in no doubt that the youngster will be the solution to Orlando Pirates scoring troubles. That might sound like too much of a burden on the shoulders of the teenager but scoring goals has never been an issue for all the years that Radiopane has been playing football, starting on the streets of Vaal. KICK OFF’s Lovemore Moyo profiles the youngster’s rise to stardom.
When Boitumelo ‘Dida’ Radiopane turns 19 later this year he will be envied by his peers for what he has already been able to achieve so early in his playing career.
From starting out in Sebokeng Zone 3, where he was spotted by Themba Dlamini, an enthusiastic development coach in the Vaal, he started out with local amateur club Celta Vigo while going through his schooling at Bula Tsela Primary and Khutlo-Tharo Secondary, where he only lasted a few months before moving to the School of Excellence.
While at the famous football school in Ekurhuleni, he was soon selected for the national Under-17 side, which paved way for a move to Orlando Pirates two years ago.
At Pirates he was named as the Prospect of the Season at the end of the last campaign, when he also took home the DStv Diski Challenge Rewired Golden Boot.
His skills were also on show in this year’s Carling Black Label Cup after he was introduced as a second half substitute, leaving fans licking their lips about what is in store ahead.
“This boy is going to be a solution for South Africa,” says Dlamini. “This is what I also told the Iron Duke [chairman Dr Irvin Khoza] when the boy signed for Pirates. The boy will give this country what it is lacking, which is scoring goals. He is a goal poacher and the next Benni McCarthy,” adds Dlamini.
“WE LOOKED AT THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT WE NEEDED FOR A CENTRE FORWARD AND HIS PROFILE SUITED US WELL.”
‘He can set the PSL on fire’
Some might think that Dlamini is driven by the excitement of seeing one of his proteges moving up to the ranks of professional football.
But his sentiments are also shared by the School of Excellence head of coaching, Lefa Mathebula.
“We are not shocked because we worked with Radiopane and we saw what is coming,” Mathebula says. “We could already sense that he could surpass what Phakamani [Mahlambi] achieved.
“If Pirates can give him a chance, he can set the PSL on fire. I don’t have any doubt about this because through all his career at the School of Excellence he was a top scorer. Even when he got to Pirates, he was already scoring goals in his first year in the MDC and in the junior national team it has been the same.
“He is strong, carries the ball well and packs a punch, so those elements make him exceptional,” says Mathebula.
If what is being said by both Dlamini and Mathebula sounds far-fetched, it always makes sense to seek alternative opinions.
A man like Augusto Palacios, who has seen countless talents come through the ranks at Pirates, is a good barometer.
“This is one that I can safely say is a great prospect, for not only Pirates but South African football,” Palacios says. “I mean, when he came on in the Carling Black Label Cup, he was able to show just what he is capable of.
“There was a moment when he could have taken a shot but chose to take the man on. He will be one to watch for the future. Exciting player and I hope he will get the opportunity to play this season, just like the other boy, Zakhele Lepasa.”
Coming through the Pirates ranks
Pirates youth coach Mandla Qhogi, who understands the process of how to profile players, was so convinced about Radiopane that he immediately recommended he be signed by Pirates.
“What attracted me to the boy was his physicality and the fact that he was scoring goals left, right and centre,” says Qhogi.
“We looked at the characteristics that we needed for a centre forward and his profile suited us well because he is the kind of forward that stays up to either hold the ball or combine with attacking midfielders. That was one thing that made think he can fit into our club.
“He started in our Under-17, which won the International Future Champions. He was part of that squad along with Azola Tshobeni. He then went to the Under-19s in the SAB League before reaching the MDC.
“Discipline-wise, he will never give you problems and you will never find him with the wrong crowd. He always chooses the right people around him who share the same vision that he also has.
“Credit to his former coach Themba because he played a key role in us getting the boy. After getting him in the national
“I FOUND TUMI WHEN HE WAS NINE PLAYING BAREFOOT.”
“TUMI WAS WANTED BY SUNDOWNS BEFORE HE CAME TO PIRATES, BUT I HAD TO STEP IN AND TAKE THE BOY TO THE CHAIRMAN.”
team, I was told that he comes from Celta Vigo and Themba then referred me to the School of Excellence, where he went when he was 13 or so,” says Qhogi.
For all the admiration and appreciation of his potential, Radiopane had to get a feel of the whip from Dlamini at Celta Vigo when he didn’t pitch for training as a kid.
He needed a second bite of the cherry to be admitted at the School of Excellence where after four years he was also wanted by Mamelodi Sundowns prior to joining Pirates.
“I found Tumi when he was nine playing barefoot along with another boy nicknamed ‘Chappies’ who played for the Pirates development,” recalls Dlamini. “He was staying with his granny and so I went in to ask for permission to bring him to train with us and she agreed. Being the little boy that he was he would at times not come [to training] but I was firm with him.
“When guardians or parents give me the go ahead to look after their kids I also provide the tough love along the way.
“I would get to coach him as well at his primary school where I was involved,” remembers Dlamini, who reveals he pushed away Sundowns’ interest.
“Tumi was wanted by Sundowns before he came to Pirates, but I had to step in and take the boy to the chairman (Khoza). I literally held the boy by his hand and took him straight to Pirates.
“His attitude towards the game makes me think of N’Golo Kante when I see him. You can never doubt his commitment to the game because in as much as he is humble, he also speaks football all the time.
“He is not disturbed by anything else in football. He got to Pirates before he even completed his Matric so that already shows the quality that we are talking about,” says Dlamini.
Mathebula gives his reasons why Radiopane didn’t make the original cut after arriving on trials at Pirates.
“He came for trials and didn’t even make the first cut but his age group coach James Mabena pleaded with us that we give him a second chance because even though he didn’t meet the criteria, he was impressed with his abilities.
“So, that is why we got him to join the school two months later than everyone else in his group. In his time here he was a quite a reserved boy and we never had disciplinary issues with him, which is why he rose through the ranks with so much ease.
“He struggled the first year… so it took a bit of time for him to adjust. In the second year he started showing signs of stuff to come. When he was 14 he was already playing with 15 year-olds which showed something in him about his dedication.
“He would train by himself and jog, take shots and do all the extra work that ultimately worked,” details Mathebula.