PATIENCE GAME

THE JOURNEY TO PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL IS ABOUT HARD WORK, LUCK AND CIRCUMSTANCE, AS PROVEN BY ORLANDO PIRATES SKIPPER INNOCENT MAELA.

- Mazola Molefe

Orlando Pirates captain Innocent Maela could have been at rival club Kaizer Chiefs or maybe joined the famous Stars of Africa academy headed by Farouk Khan had it not been for Thabo Senong.

And the former Bafana Bafana assistant coach claims he almost immediately knew the defender would become a national asset.

"I saw him at an under-19 schools tournament. What caught my attention was his speed and his ability to cross. At the time, he was playing as a left winger. Farouk Khan wanted him for his academy and Doctor Khumalo was there as the Chiefs under-17 coach as well, and tried to bring him into their programme", Senong reveals.

"I was obviously competing with those two programmes because I was working as a youth coach and scout for Pirates. I watched him twice at the school and then when I followed him to a social game. The way he adapted was impressive because the emerging talent in Witbank played against more established counterparts like Innocent Mdledle in the township."