Orlando Pirates are regarded as an institution in South African football and it is then no wonder that Thulani ‘Tyson’ Hlatshwayo
feels honoured to wear the captain’s armband at the Buccaneers.
Now Hlatshwayo must lead the Buccaneers in their quest to snap a six-year trophy drought as they face Bloemfontein Celtic in the final of the MTN8 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday evening (18h00).
Understandably, Hlatshwayo fully knows that facing Celtic is not an
easy task even though he together with his teammates are determined to bring the trophy home.
Hlatshwayo is no stranger to playing and winning the MTN8 final having done so with Bidvest Wits during the 2016/17 season where they walloped Mamelodi Sundowns 3-0.
‘‘The attitude has been great. As a player I draw inspiration from the same cup we played and won against Sundowns. Looking at the team we have, we have a lot of character and personnel who can challenge. We need to have togetherness,’’ Hlatshwayo, who turns 31 on 18 December,said.
The former Ajax Cape Town defender, who is in his first season at the Buccaneers, has added that captaining Pirates is an honour to him.
‘‘Obviously, joining the team that I grew up supporting is about success. And as a team, as a player you have a target to achieve. It’s an honour to captain such a big team, this is close to my heart,’’ the former Wits captain said.
This is the second meeting between Pirates and Celtic this season with the Buccaneers having beaten Phunya Sele Sele 1-0 in a DStv
Premiership encounter in November.
