“I fell out of love with football at Orlando Pirates” 

A former Orlando Pirates star has finally opened up about his turbulent spell at the club.

Thulani Hlatshwayo joined Pirates as a free agent from the now defunct Bidvest Wits amid massive expectations. 

He was coming as a former captain of a very stable Wits side who had been competing for titles and trophies. That, in turn, had seen him become the captain of Bafana Bafana under former coach Stuart Baxter. Hlatshwayo was also part of the national team side that went out at the quarter-final stage of Afcon 2019. They also stunned hosts Egypt on the way to that feat. After that So naturally there was a lot excitement when he joined Pirates. 

For Hlatshwayo, joining Pirates was a dream come true, as he was a boyhood Buccaneer. It took little time for him to establish himself as a regular, along side or for captain Happy Jele. He was also touted as a long-term replacement for Jele as well as future captain. Because of the veteran’s injuries, he assumed the captains armband pretty quickly and had a decent first season at the club. 

It would be the second season, however, that saw Hlatshwayo become more and more error-prone. Sooner than anybody expected, that saw the Pirates faithful turn their backs on him. It was not long before the coaching staff did the same and he was eventually released at the start of last season. Just like that, it was an anticlimactic end to his dream move. 

Speaking to KickOff.com Hlatshwayo opens up about his difficult spell at Pirates. 

Hlatshwayo says he fell out of love with football at Pirates

“I’m happy now, I fell in love with the game when I joined SuperSport again. I fell out of love with the game[at Pirates]. I wasn’t playing. Having last played during COVID [lockdown period] I think it was against Chiefs, the results were not forthcoming for the team and ja.” Said Hlatshwayo. 

At the end of his spell at Pirates, he reunited with his former coach at Wits, Gavin Hunt at SuperSport United. There, Hlatshwayo has been given an integral role which sees him wear the armband on occasion.