Ex-Pirates Defender Now Works At Avis

Former Orlando Pirates defender Edward Malinga says he sees no shame that he is working at a car rental – Avis having experienced the highs of topflight football and came close to winning the league title twice.
Malinga joined Pirates from Maritzburg United ahead of the 2003/04 season along with Felix Musasa, Patrick Twala, Tshamala Kabamba, and Marcel Nkueni, while Lebogang Mokoena and Philani Kubheka were promoted from the development.
He left in the middle of the 2007/08 season to join Moroka Swallows.
The 41-year-old born in Welkom was at the Soweto Giants when Pirates lost the league twice, narrowly, to Kaizer Chiefs in the 2004/05 and in the 2006/07 season to Mamelodi Sundowns.
The 2004/05 season, was a painful experience for Malinga and Kosta Papic’s side as they went on the string of 18 games unbeaten run, but they failed to beat Mlungisi Professor Ngubani’s Bush Bucks in the last game while Chiefs beat Bloemfontein Celtic in theirs, which Collins Mbesuma and the late Emanuel Scara Ngobese ran the show for the Ted Dumitru’s side.
“Now I work at Avis in Jozi,” Malinga told Sportswire.
“Life has been very good – I’m enjoying what I do, things are stable at home.”
Malinga says working for Avis doesn’t mean that life has humbled him because you can’t play football forever.
“Not really humbled me in a way,” said Malinga.
“When you play football, you know you won’t play football forever – like it or not you won’t play forever.
“But you must be prepared to retire anytime soon. For some, you retire later and for some, you retire early. But you must continue to take care of your family, take care of yourself.”
Despite the highs of football and playing for a glamourous club like Pirates, Malinga has maintained his marriage for 16 years.
“I retired from football in 2011 after Thanda Royal Zulu failed to get the promotion via the Playoffs and it is 14 years having left the game because I picked up bad injuries.”
Although Pirates could not win those two league titles, the Absa Cup loss to Chiefs in the 2005/06 season at Kings Park Stadium on penalties still leaves a sour taste in “my mouth”, said Malinga.
That is because Pirates flew out of the blocks, but the final product was poor from their side, especially Lelo Mbele, Joseph Makhanya, and Cheeseboy Mokoena.
Malinga was reminiscing these stories as he was part of the Siyabonga Sangweni Sports Complex unveiling in Dondotha on Saturday, where Pirates legends lost to Chiefs on penalty shootouts.
“Bhele (Siyabonga Nomvethe) missed the penalty, it crashed the post,” Malinga recalls.
“Steve Lekoeloa hits the post. In all the games that I have played, that was the worst game. That game was a hard pill to swallow, I got no words on how to describe that game.”
In that game, Tebogo Moloi was a stand-in coach after Papic was relieved of his duties.