The scientific and anecdotal evidence supporting the practice of writing down goals is quite compelling, at least in theory, for many. However, Innocent Maela discovered the transformative power of jotting down his dreams when he was on the verge of giving up the game he loves so dearly.
Growing up in Witbank, Maela always longed for the big stage. Deco, a name he earned before he was converted to a left-back, had a dream to play for his boyhood club – Orlando Pirates. His older brother, Nqoba Mahlangu, recounts a story of how the talented full-back would juggle a ball on his way to the shops whenever he was sent to buy bread.
“He’d grab his ball when he was sent to the shops. Mum would wonder how much longer it would take him to reach the shops while juggling a football. He wouldn’t do it any other way. He loved his football from a young age,” Mahlangu tells FARPost.
That led to stints with two amateur sides in his hometown, Witbank – Celtic FC and Tsetse Fly. The first of those came at the age of 9.
After eight years of playing amateur football, he caught the eye of Thabo Senong, who went to the Highveld of Mpumalanga in 2009 to scout for talent.
The following year, just months before he turned 18, he joined the Bucs’ development team. His dreams were all falling into place perfectly. It felt like a huge step towards his ultimate goal. He was leaving amateur football behind, playing for the academy of one of the continent’s most respected clubs.
MAELA STARTED OFF AS A STRIKER
Of course, starting as a striker and later being converted to a left attacking winger at Pirates was quite exciting. But before he even settled into his new position, which still allowed him to score goals as he always loved, he was moved to left back.
“I can tell you now, no left back starts off wanting to play left back. A lot of us start somewhere else and then switch later,” says Maela, whose childhood idol was Patrice Evra, the Frenchman who made his name with Manchester United. Over time, he grew to love his new position. His young mind was made up.
It all made sense in the end – his brother Tsepo Masilela was excelling in the same position for Israeli side Maccabi Haifa and Bafana Bafana. “Tsepo was of great help to me. I remember how I used to talk to him a lot on the phone when he was in Israel, and he would advise me on how I could make a career out of football,” he explains.
It was inspiration galore for him. Deco is that apple that did not fall far from the tree. His dad, Eric Masilela, is a Witbank Aces legend who shared dressing rooms with yesteryear stars like Lawrence Siyangaphi, Harris Chueu, Steve Makua, and Thomas Ngobe, the father of Dumisa Ngobe, a former Bafana Bafana midfielder. “My father played a huge role because he also played football. He was the only one who really believed I could play football professionally, not so much my mother,” he adds.
‘HE ALWAYS HAD A BIBLE IN HIS CAR’: EX-PIRATES TEAMMATE
His mother never truly cared whether her starlet son had what it took to play at the highest level. All she wanted was her bread to arrive quickly. Nonetheless, Mahlangu highlights one thing his mother gave them, which carried Maela through his ‘dark days’. It was faith in her God.
“Our mum would take us to her church in Witbank. They still remember Inno there,” he says.
His former teammate at Pirates, Mthokozisi Dube, then reveals that the man always keeps a Bible in his car. His repeated mentions of God’s goodness throughout the interview then make sense. Perhaps his remarkable rise in the game was influenced by the power of a praying mother. But again, there’s that small note that seemingly made all the difference. It read something like “I’ll go back to Orlando Pirates and fight for that left back position.
“It was quite fascinating to me when he showed me the note once we both returned to Pirates from the loan. I remember we were in the bus going to a game,” says Dube, who spent five years away on loan at Roses United, Royal Eagles, and Bloemfontein Celtic.
Students of the word of God would readily agree that Maela’s inspiration to write down his dream of returning to Pirates after a long spell away on loan was inspired by Habakkuk 2:2. As if to confirm this, Maela states he has read Habakkuk, the 35th book of the Bible, which has only three chapters and 56 verses.
THE BIBLE VERSE THAT RESONATES WITH MAELA
The particular verse that resonated with Maela’s move reads, “I will give you my message in the form of a vision. Write it clearly enough to be read at a glance.” Out of curiosity, this writer then read verse 3, which further states, “Put it in writing, because it is not yet time for it to come true. But the time is coming quickly, and what I show you will come true.
It may seem slow in coming, but wait for it; it will certainly happen, and it will not be delayed.” It aptly reflects the journey and many turns Deco’s career took. Of course, when he wrote those words down, despair had crept in. For Maela, it was an arduous two seasons away from Pirates, on loan at Witbank Spurs first from 2012 to 2014, and then at Thanda Royal Zulu in Richards Bay, where he spent another three gruelling seasons. It definitely seemed slow in coming as the verse suggests. “It was very tough,” he admits.
His childhood friend Andile Mtsweni, who joined the Soweto giants’ development side with him, eventually quit football for an 8-5 job after being loaned out. He describes the struggles of a young player who dreams of wearing the skull and crossbones, only to be sent away for years as if forgotten.
“When it happens, it feels sad because you want to be around Pirates, a club you’ve come to love. A lot of things go through your mind because you’re young and you don’t understand at that moment. You think the club is ditching you, but when you grow up, you realise it was necessary for your development,” says Mtsweni, who left Pirates at the end of 2011.
CLOSE TO QUITTING AFTER THANDA ROYAL ZULU’S RELEGATION
Maela reveals that he was close to quitting football after Amabhubesi narrowly avoided relegation at the end of the 2015/16 season.
“I almost quit football when Thanda Royal Zulu survived relegation. I told my mum I’d been out on loan for four years, going on five. And I made it clear that if nothing happened [Pirates recalling him], I’d quit football and go back to school because I’m still young. She said to me ‘Give it one more shot, son,’” he says.
Quitting football and returning to school seemed to work for his comrade, Mtsweni, who appeared to have moved on and was enjoying life. Interestingly, Maela had previously dropped out of the University of Johannesburg after just two months to focus on the world’s most beautiful game.
At that time, the words he had written on paper were as good as ancient history. None of them made sense. It appeared his beloved Buccaneers had completely forgotten him. However, the following season was to change it all. That was the 2016/17 season.
“We won the 2016/17 NFD and gained promotion to the PSL,” says Maela, who captained the Richards Bay FC team during that season. He had indeed matured enough to be trusted with the armband. And certainly, enough to lead a club to a prestigious title victory. Once again, as he approached 25, he felt he was of age.
There was a positive side, though. At least then, even if the Bucs didn’t recall him from loan, he’d face them in the PSL and demonstrate how much he had developed into a top left back. “Winning the league with Thanda was a bright spot in my career,” he says.
THE PHONE CALL FROM DR IRVIN KHOZA
But he and his teammates faced a major setback a few days later. Thanda sold its PSL status to AmaZulu FC just three days after the players had worked hard to secure promotion. “At that point, I thought maybe things were not meant to be. I was back to square one,” explains the former Bafana fullback.
But the words he had written in his diary were about to come true. It was time for them to fully materialise. And much more. “Days later, the chairman [Dr Irvin Khoza] called to tell me they had been following my progress and I was ready to return to Pirates,” reveals Maela.
While he was still celebrating his imminent return to the Bucs, then Bafana coach Stuart Baxter selected him for a 20-man squad for the 2017 COSAFA. “It felt like God was making up for the delays in my career,” he adds.
The man who discovered this young talent in Witbank, Thabo Senong, recommended him. “I had been watching him at Thanda Royal Zulu and told Stuart Baxter that there was a left back at the club. I believed he could be one of the best. Stuart was initially sceptical about a player moving from the NFD to the national team. But after having a look at him, he said, ‘Thabo, this is the right one’. He had a decent tournament,” said Senong, who was Baxter’s assistant at the time.
THE COSAFA CUP BREAKTHROUGH
A few weeks after his COSAFA Cup breakthrough, Maela experienced his safest landing yet by winning the Man of the Match award on his Pirates debut. The full-back provided the assist for Thamsanqa Gabuza’s sole goal as the Buccaneers secured a 1-0 victory over Chippa United.
That same season, he proved to be a revelation at Pirates, establishing himself as one of the club’s key players. He made 26 appearances across all competitions and earned a spot in the Bafana squad that won the Four-Nations tournament in Zambia in March 2018.
He was then named in the 23-man squad that represented the country at the AFCON finals held in Egypt in June last year. Goodness and mercy were pursuing the ardent believer.
“If I were to pick my most memorable football moment, it would have to be the goal I scored in the derby,” says the 27-year-old. It was a header from the late Justin Shonga’s corner-kick that levelled matters before Vincent Pule grabbed the winner after tapping an Augustine Mulenga cross into an empty net.
“That goal will always be special because it was in a derby,” he says of his second goal in Bucs colours. His first goal came in the 2-2 draw with Cape Town City FC earlier last season, but he cherishes his second even more.
In July 2022, he was appointed captain of his boyhood team and went on to win five trophies before retiring at the end of the 2024/25 season. Perhaps, when Maela wrote those words, he was deciding what to order from Earth’s menu. The man truly lived his dream!
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