Former Orlando Pirates captain Happy Jele has opened up on his involvement in guiding the club’s young defender Thabiso Sesane whose impressive performances have been evident since last season.
The 24-year-old centre-back came through the club’s youth ranks and was promoted to the senior team back in 2020 when Jele was still the team’s skipper.
Sesane had two loan spells with Jomo Cosmos and the now-defunct All-Stars before he returned to the Buccaneers at the start of the 2023/24 season.
Jele explained that he frequently challenged the Soweto-born defender, providing constructive criticism that helped him address his weaknesses.
JELE RECALLS MENTORING YOUNG THABISO SESANE
“Sesane is doing well, I think we fought so much to get [him] where he is today,” said Jele.
“If you remember, Sesane started, I think it’s [his] fifth season now at Pirates. The first season we were playing together, training together. And I always told him that the chance will come one day.
“And obviously the team has loaned him, come back, loaned him, come back. And when he got a chance last year when he came back last year, we had to fight to say, ‘You need to work on most of the things that you are lacking on’.
“But I was not there at that time, but because I’m close to him, we were fighting a lot and working on a lot of things that he had to improve. And I’m very happy now because he’s doing well. And all the things that we’ve been working on, it’s showing off now.
“I’m just happy for him.”
Jele responded to the player’s comparisons with former Bafana Bafana and Tottenham Hotspur defender Mbulelo ‘OJ’ Mabizela by stressing that Sesane should focus on being himself, rather than trying to emulate others.
JELE ON SESANE’S COMPARISONS WITH MABIZELA
“OJ? Yeah. I don’t know,” he added.
“I think for me, I don’t like to compare people. I always say, yeah, he must Sesane and Happy Jele must be Happy Jele.
“We are different in our own way. So, OJ was different. He was a role model for me.
“I used to like OJ. But I don’t think he’s in that level of OJ. But the way he’s doing his things now, Sesane has been great for himself.”
RELATED STORY: Thabiso Sesane opens up about almost quitting football
