Former Orlando Pirates captain Lucky Lekgwathi has revealed what made Bucs’ treble-winning team tick compared to the current team.
The Soweto giants won a treble in the year 2010/2011 season under the tutelage of Ruud Krol.
The Dutchman led the Sea Robbers to a victory in the MTN8 Cup and Nedbank Cup before snatching the league title.
In that season, the Happy People became the first team to win three trophies in a season since arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs did that in 1984.
The Pirates legend reckons that his team possessed a bunch of leaders mixed with youngsters who gave their all to the team.
Lekgwathi singled out the brilliance of Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy, the late Senzo Meyiwa, Daine Klate, Thulasizwe Mbuyane, Benson Mhlongo, to mention a few.
LUCKY LEKGWATHI VIEWS…
“The difference is that if you look at my team they were leaders from the back until the upfront,” Lekgwathi told FARPost.
“You look at the goalkeeping department, we had the likes of Moeneeb [Josephs] who was a seasoned campaigner and Senzo [Meyiwa] who was playing for Bafana Bafana.
“In the middle, we had people like Benson Mhlongo when he was at his peak, and we also had Jali [Andile] and Oupa [Manyisa] who were like leaders even them. They were bulldozers in the middle of the park, having played against top midfielders like Simphiwe Tshabalala and Reneilwe Letsholonyane and were able to stabilise them.
“Upfront we had Benni [McCarthy], you talk about someone who won the UEFA Champions League in the team. Whenever he speaks, everyone listens. We also had Thulasizwe Mbuyane and Daine Klate, who was the most decorated player until Hlompho [Kekana] came in and overtook him.
The 46-year-old retired footballer continued: “It was a team of senior players combined with youngsters. But now if you look at the current team they are only a few senior players and some of the players don’t know the culture of the team.
“When we won the treble, I had already played 10 to 12 seasons at the club and others had about five seasons, but now only a few players have played about five seasons and for me, that’s the difference.”
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