Hotto said senior players at Pirates have been trying to provide a steady hand, guiding Mofokeng as he seeks to avoid the dreaded second season syndrome in 2024-25. “That’s where we as senior players also come in, to keep the boy grounded, keep his head in the game.
“His head must be on the prize, so we’re trying to keep him just to continue where he left off and to put in more effort, especially in the final third. There are times where we need him just to put the ball in the net and he takes another touch. That’s where we come in just to guide him to say, ‘The first moment you get, try to finish it’ — just like he did in the final where it was just one, two [touches] and then finish.”
With four cup trophies in coach Jose Riveiro’s two seasons at Pirates, in the coming campaign Bucs will be out to close the gap on seven-time successive DStv Premiership champions Sundowns.
The Buccaneers finished runners-up to Downs in 2022-23 and 2023-24, but by huge 16- and 23-point margins.
Pirates’ Mofokeng did well in Spain, ready for overseas move: Hotto
Image: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
Orlando Pirates young star Relebohile Mofokeng is ready for a move to Europe, according to his teammate, utility player Deon Hotto.
The Namibian left-back and winger said Mofokeng showed his class with assured performances during their club’s preseason tour of Spain.
Mofokeng, 19, burst onto the scene with a breakthrough season in 2023-24, with five goals in 38 league and cup games. The Transnet School of Excellence product capped the campaign with a fine goal in Pirates’ stirring 2-1 Nedbank Cup final win against Mamelodi Sundowns, and a bright cameo international debut in Bafana Bafana’s 3-1 win against Zimbabwe, both in June.
“Ja, for sure he is. Why is he not ready? He is,” Hotto said, asked if he thought Mofokeng was ready for a move overseas. “Even when he was in Spain, you could see how he was competing against Sevilla, against Granada, against big teams, big names. He was playing like he does here in the PSL. So for me, I think he’s ready, to be honest.”
Pirates played four friendlies in Spain this month, drawing 2-2 against English Championship team Plymouth Argyle, beating Sevilla 2-0, drawing 1-1 with Granada, another LaLiga side, and losing 3-2 against Saudi Arabia’s Al Sadd.
Hotto said senior players at Pirates have been trying to provide a steady hand, guiding Mofokeng as he seeks to avoid the dreaded second season syndrome in 2024-25. “That’s where we as senior players also come in, to keep the boy grounded, keep his head in the game.
“His head must be on the prize, so we’re trying to keep him just to continue where he left off and to put in more effort, especially in the final third. There are times where we need him just to put the ball in the net and he takes another touch. That’s where we come in just to guide him to say, ‘The first moment you get, try to finish it’ — just like he did in the final where it was just one, two [touches] and then finish.”
With four cup trophies in coach Jose Riveiro’s two seasons at Pirates, in the coming campaign Bucs will be out to close the gap on seven-time successive DStv Premiership champions Sundowns.
The Buccaneers finished runners-up to Downs in 2022-23 and 2023-24, but by huge 16- and 23-point margins.
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