‘I’d come out of retirement for Palacios’: Former Pirates captain Dinha
Former Orlando Pirates captain Edelbert Dinha has highlighted the impact made by Augusto Palacios in his career, saying he would come out of retirement any day for the Peruvian.
Dinha made his name at Ajax Cape Town and would soon find himself given the skipper’s armband at Pirates under Palacios.
Being tasked with steering a Buccaneers ship was far from troubled waters, but in Palacios, he met a coach that made a difficult job a bit easier.
“I was captain at Ajax, and they made me captain after a season with them. If you’re the captain and can’t handle pressure with your teammates, people can see it,” said Dinha, who was at Bucs between 2002 and 2006.
The former Zimbabwe international says if he were to start talking about Palacios he will “need four days”.
WHAT MAKES AUGUSTO PALACIOS SPECIAL
“He allowed his players to have fun on the field of play. Palacios wanted us to have fun with purpose,” the 49-year-old Dinha told FARPost.
“He would want to know the type of person you’re married to. The coach will get that through your girlfriend or wife.
“He did it with me. He took us for lunch. It made me feel loved and very comfortable and made me enjoy his presence.
“If he were to ask me to come out of retirement, I’d do it without thinking twice.”
While Pirates’ appetite for Dinha was already whetted by the performances he had put against them in 2002, there were other sharks swimming in the Cape waters, showing an equally ravenous interest in him.
Mamelodi Sundowns were equally keen on having him. Despite that interest, John Comitis says the speed at which Pirates moved to cement the move took them by surprise.
“Pirates were already talking to him through his agent. They surprised us. We hadn’t decided what we would do,” explained Comitis.
“They went ahead and contacted him. It almost forced our hand because the price was very high. He was a great leader, led from the front, spoke from the back, he was a top professional.”
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