The two-time PSL Footballer of the Year reflected on his time with the Buccaneers where he replaced fellow Soweto-born player Tso
Former Bafana Bafana international Teko Modise is eager to have a private conversation with Orlando Pirates legend Benedict ‘Tso’ Vilakazi.
Modise was considered to be fellow retired midfielder Vilakazi’s successor at Pirates after the latter left the Buccaneers for Danish club AaB Aalborg in 2007.
The man nicknamed the General joined Pirates from SuperSport United shortly after Tso’s departure in the same year and never looked back as Modise established himself as the club’s talisman and the best player in the country.
“I hope I can have a conversation with Tso and make him understand what he meant to us. He would be running on the streets when it was so hot in the afternoon,” Modise said on Far Post.
“The sun would be scorchingly hot, but he would train so hard. He inspired me. I want to have a conversation with Tso because that impacted me a lot.”
Pirates academy product Vilakazi, who captained the first team, achieved legendary status during his eight-year spell with Bucs in the PSL as he won two league titles and the BP Top 8 Cup (MTN8), and he is the club’s all-time leading goalscorer with 52 goals.
Modise, who could operate as a winger, central midfielder and second striker, reflected on his time with the Soweto giants where he had to cope with the pressure which comes with playing for a big PSL club.
“At Pirates I had to change and adapt to the pressure. My life changed from the first day I played at Pirates because I’m from Soweto,” he continued.
“So, playing for a big team from your Kasi [township] means everything to you. From the first day I wore a Pirates jersey it changed everything about me.”
During Modise’s time with Pirates, the team won only one major trophy (MTN8) in the 2010/11 season and he left Bucs for Mamelodi Sundowns in January 2011.
“At Pirates I was labelled a superstar that wasn’t going to win anything. At Mamelodi Sundowns I was among the superstars and I had to rediscover myself and contribute,” he added.
“I had a personal goal to achieve at Sundowns – it was to win trophies,” he says.
Modise, who retired from professional football in 2019, went on to help Sundowns clinch six major trophies including two PSL titles and the Caf Champions League trophy.
Be the first to comment