Small boys are home” — Sebelebele draws the line at Pirates
There are no kids in black and white. Not once the Orlando Pirates badge is on the chest.
That was Kamogelo Sebelebele’s message after being asked about the wave of youngsters flooding Orlando Pirates’ first team — the same crop that won last season’s DStv Diski Challenge and has since been thrown into senior football without a safety net.
They have not looked out of place. Sebelebele says that is the point.
“Everyone knows that when you play for Pirates you are no longer a small player or a young player,” he said.
“When we get onto the pitch, we push and we fight. There is no small boy on the pitch. Small boys are home.”
The standard, he argued, is not age. It is the shirt — and the people who empty their pockets to watch it.
“When you play for Pirates you have to work for the badge because there are so many people who use their last cent to come and watch us play. So we have a responsibility to make them happy.”
That responsibility now lives at Orlando Amstel Arena. Opponents already know the weight of Esigodini.
“Opponents will tell you, it is very heavy to play here. There is no team that will do as they please here Esigodini.”
Sebelebele grew up wanting this ground. He does not treat the wish as granted.
“When one was growing up, he was wishing to one day play for Orlando Pirates. So now that I got the opportunity, in every game I make sure that I give 100% because it is not everyone who gets that chance. I am one of the few chosen ones, so I must always work for the team.”
The mission is as blunt as the rest of it. “Among our goals is to defend the league and win the other trophies.”
No small boys. No small season. The badge does not do either.
