The coaches who brought out the best in Justice Chabalala at Pirates

Justice Chabalala has disclosed the names of the coaches who played a pivotal role in bringing out his best performances during his time at Orlando Pirates.

During his tenure with Pirates from 2016/17 to 2022/23, Chabalala, who currently holds the captaincy at Chippa United, had a notable seven-season stint with the PSL giants.

But despite his skill, he faced limited playing time during his years with the club, which impacted his overall contribution to the team. The centre-back only managed to make 20 appearances in all competitions.

The limited number of games played is a result of Chabalala going on loan to gain more experience and seek regular playing time. The 32-year-old has had loan stints with teams such as Bloemfontein Celtic and Sekhukhune United.

JUSTICE CHABALALA NAMES MUHSIN ERTUGRAL, MICHO AND AUGUSTO PALACIOUS AS HIS BEST COACHES AT PIRATES

Chabalala says Ertugral, Micho and Palacious were his best coaches at Pirates. Ertugral joined the Sea Robbers ahead of the 2016/17 season in July 2016, however his stay at the club was short-lived as he left the November 2016.

Palacious took over the reins from Ertugral as an interim coach in November 2016 and left the post in February 2017. Micho was appointed Bucs coach ahead of the 2017/18 season and left the club at the start of the 2018/19 campaign.

“There are three [coaches that got the best out of me at Orlando Pirates],” Chabalala told FARPost. “The one who is now staying in Cape Town; coach Muhsin Ertugral, coach Augusto Palacious and coach Micho [Milutin Sredojević].

“They are the ones I think I got my best playing under. Those who coached me before I was not playing—I won’t say they didn’t like me or what—it was about me.

“I was supposed to show them better what they wanted from me. And what I can improve on so I can play each and every game.”

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