Relebohile Mofokeng of Orlando Pirates arrives during the 2024 MTN8 final match between Orlando Pirates and Stellenbosch FC at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on 05 October 2024
Samuel Shivambu, Backpages
Orlando Pirates’ teenage sensation Relebohile Mofokeng is a player who can compete on the biggest stage at the level of Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid among others, according to former Buccaneer Luvuyo Memela.
In only his second full season with the Buccaneers, Mofokeng has already won three major trophies with the recent MTN8 triumph to add to the one won last season and the Nedbank Cup respectively.
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Having previously gone for trials at Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers last year, Mofokeng has been touted for a possible overseas move as Bucs are understood to be open to allow him to further his career abroad.
Since being promoted to the Pirates first team last year, the 19-year-old has already played 50 matches as he has managed to become a regular in coach Jose Riveiro’s starting line-ups.
Last season, he was chosen as the league’s Young Player of the Season and Nedbank Cup Most Promising Player of the Tournament and is already a Bafana Bafana player with four caps under coach Hugo Broos.
“For me, I feel like he can play for teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid. He is a player with the ability to play at the highest level. I feel like he can play in top competitions like the Champions League. If I remember well, the last South African player we had competing at such a level was Benni McCarthy. Then we had guys like Thulani Serero who played against Barcelona when he was still with Ajax (Amsterdam), and even scored. But since then, we haven’t had a player competing at such a big stage,” said Memela, speaking exclusively to the Siya crew.
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“It would be nice to see one of our own at that stage when watching football and for me that boy (Mofokeng) can get there. It’s good to see the progress he is making, and I like how the Pirates coach is managing him in terms of how he is using him in the team. I like seeing that he is sometimes protecting him and doesn’t just throw him in there for the sake of it. It’s the right way also for the boy not to know what to expect. It keeps him on his toes that playing doesn’t happen automatically, and that one needs to keep on working hard and perform consistently. I think that’s why the boy has managed to always bring his A game,” he said.
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