Former Orlando Pirates skipper Lucky Lekgwathi has shared his thoughts on the chances of ‘The Buccaneers’ defending the MTN8 title under the tutelage of Jose Riveiro.
Pirates have already secured their place in the semi-finals of the MTN8 competition following their 3-1 victory over SuperSport United at the beginning of this month.
‘The Sea Robbers’ will face Cape Town City FC in the tournament’s last four, with the first leg set to take place this evening at DHL Stadium. The kickoff will start at 18:00.
The match was supposed to take place last night at 19:00, but it was postponed due to bad weather conditions.
Pirates would want to draw first blood away from home and make things easier for themselves by going into the second leg on the weekend in Soweto.
LUCKY LEKGWATHI ON ORLANDO PIRATES’ TITLE DEFENCE
The Soweto giants legend, Lekgwathi, insists that Bucs are playing like a side that can win the MTN8 title for the third time in a row, given their impressive displays since the start of the campaign.
The retired footballer added that the players would want to be in the club’s history books, the tournament, and the PSL. He further stated that the winning prize money is a motivation in itself for the boys to leave everything on the field of play.
Pirates have already won the title back-to-back under the guidance of the Spanish mentor, Riveiro, who is one of the favourites to win it once again.
The MTN8 has increased the 2024 winners’ prize money to R10 million from R8 million, with the participation fee also increasing to R1 million from R800,000.
“Look, they want to make history by winning it for the third time in a row. They want to be in the history books of the MTN8 Cup, the history books of Orlando Pirates, and the PSL. You know, that’s motivation in itself,” Lekgwathi told FARPost.
“Also, MTN8 has increased the prize money, which serves as motivation for the players. Since the players have won the trophy before, they know how much the bonus is, and now that it has gone up to R10 million, they understand that the bonus will increase again.
“The Buccaneers are the defending champions, and they want to make history. It’s going to be a good tournament, especially now after increasing the prize money.”
Lekgwathi continued: “Even now, you can see how these teams are playing; it shows that the money has increased, and they want to win.”
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