Orlando Pirates midfielder Ben Motshwari. Pic: AFP/Phill Magakoe
It’s been over two years since Ben Motshwari joined Orlando Pirates, with the midfielder now having played 50 games for the club, but he doesn’t consider himself as a leader at Bucs, and says he looks up to players like Happy Jele and Thulani Hlatswayo.
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Motswari is, in his own right, one of the senior players at the club having stamped his place in the line-up and making himself one of the key players for coach Josef Zinnbauer’s side.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I consider myself one of the leaders. There are still plenty of leaders amongst the guys, you know,” Motshwari was quoted as saying by the Pirates website.
“Happy Jele, Nyauza, and now recently, we have Thulani Hlatshwayo. But I’m learning a lot from these guys. They have been leaders for so many years. For me, it’s about learning from them and striving to be a better leader.”
The former Bidvest Wits player is thankful to have been injury free so far this campaign.
“This season, the positive thing that I can take out is that I haven’t gotten injured yet. Last season and the season before, I had injuries in the beginning of the season. But now, thanks to our conditioning coach, fitness coach and the technical team as well, the load for the players is well-managed. I think that’s going to be really important this season.”
Motswari recently won his first trophy with the Buccaneers when they beat Bloemfontein Celtic 2-1 in the MTN8 final.
In that match, Motswari had a sterling performance which saw him walking away with the man-of-the-match accolade.
He will be looking to continue with his excellent form for Bucs when they go into their continental venture, with a meeting coming up on Tuesday against Angolan outfit Sagrada Esperanca in the Caf Confederation Cup.
The Buccaneers will head into this match having managed to maintain their unbeaten record following their 1-0 victory over Chippa United in a DStv Premiership clash midweek.
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