Former Orlando Pirates star Clifford Ngobeni has suggested Bucs ruined his career. Image: @SollyMputleSA / Twitter
Shocking: Pirates’ ex-star reveals big division inside Bucs
Wow, this is hard to believe. Former Orlando Pirates star Clifford Ngobeni has revealed shocking conditions he faced at the club.
Former Orlando Pirates star Clifford Ngobeni has suggested Bucs ruined his career. Image: @SollyMputleSA / Twitter
Orlando Pirates’ management won’t really enjoy this story, they’ll want to hide if it’s all true. The club’s former midfielder Clifford Ngobeni has simply claimed the club was a scene of chaos during his time.
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NGOBENI AT ORLANDO PIRATES
The Ajax Cape Town academy graduate joined the Sea Robbers in 2010 after five years at the Cape club as a rather wonderful number 6.
Ngobeni made 35 appearances for the Soweto giants in two seasons before moving to Golden Arrows.
The former Bafana Bafana star later moved to Mpumalanga Black Aces and AmaTuks where he played until his 34th birthday last season.
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Asked on TK Solutions TV to sum up his spell at Pirates and why his star never shined bright, Ngobeni claimed the problem was with the environment.
“That team was divided, and it had good players,” Ngobeni began.
“I don’t know if it was divided by players or management because when I got there I was so shocked.
Asked when he realised the setup was messy, Ngobeni said it began with the selection process.
“Mashego and Teko were not playing. Not even considered.
“There was Orlando and there was Pirates,” Ngobeni chuckled in disbelief. “I am telling you.”
“So we were at Pirates and they were with Orlando. They were not playing.
“They got to training before us. They did not train with us. I was shocked.
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IF YOU’RE HONEST, FORGET SUCCESS
The former midfielder concluded to say that Bucs was no place for honest men.
“If you follow rules there, you won’t make it. Trust me you won’t make it,” Ngobeni added.
“You have to please a lot of people and you are lying. You won’t make it if you’re an honest person.
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“You also have to perform. It’s difficult and fans want results. It’s beyond football. You don’t know other things that are happening internally. It destroyed a lot of players,” the 35-year-old from Soweto added.
Meanwhile, Ngobeni officially retired from the game in November 2021.
