Ncikazi Gives A Hint On Maela’s Future
Orlando Pirates interim coach Mandla Ncikazi has confirmed a new chapter for outgoing captain Innocent Maela, who bid farewell to the Bucs faithful in a Betway Premiership encounter against Magesi FC on Tuesday.
The long-serving, experienced skipper received a standing ovation from spectators at Orlando Stadium upon his substitution in the 66th minute, in what was his last match for the Soweto giants, ending an eight-year stay with the club.
Maela signed for the Sea Robbers in July 2014 and was loaned to Thanda Royal Zulu before returning to Mayfair in July 2017. The Mpumalanga-born defender went on to make 208 appearances for Pirates, winning six trophies in the process.
Now, the former Golden Arrows mentor paid tribute to the club legend, stating that Maela is taking a different direction in his career, amidst reports that the player is set to hang up his boots and take up a role in the Bucs technical team in the upcoming season.
“He is a product of this institution. I remember the first time I met him, he was playing for Thanda Royal Zulu, and I was still in KZN. I saw this fast winger that I wanted to poach, but I was told that he belongs to the big institution, so you know what should happen,” said Ncikazi.
“He is a great human being. Sometimes we look at players and we forget that they are members of society. It becomes very good when you have a good human being and a good player, and it’s moments like that where you continue being a leader even if you are not inside the field of play.
“He is highly intelligent, and I’m sure he is highly educated at home and in the institutions of learning. It’s a blessing, and I’m sure his career is going to proceed. He’s the type where it’s not the end now, he’s just taking another step and direction in his career based on his humanity and his academic learning.”
Ncikazi went on to highlight the importance of having ample leaders in the squad to guide the emerging talents in the first team, with the Mayfair club boasting an influx of promising youngsters breaking into the senior team.
“The club is blessed with good leaders, not only [Nkosinathi] Sibisi, Tapelo Xoki is one good human being that I have met in my football career as a coach. He is selfless, supports the young players, giving them direction,” he added.
“Innocent Maela has been a captain who has not played many games, but he is always there to support and give direction to the players. For whatever reason, at this stage of our season, I thought we were blessed with a lot of senior players.
“If you have a lot of senior players in your team, two things can happen. They can either help the team to grow or they can suffocate the team; with other teams, it has been the opposite. But I think our group has assisted the youngsters to try and adapt quickly.”
