Fortune Makaringe spent five years at Orlando Pirates before making a move to Cape Town City FC this season. Here he is looking back on his career in Soweto.
FORTUNE MAKARINGE ON ORLANDO PIRATES EXPERIENCE
After 10 goals and nine assists in 147 games for the Sea Robbers, the 31-year-old midfielder says the club essentially made him a mature footballer and senior professional.
“I learnt a lot from Orlando Pirates. From coach [Jose] Riviero, I also learned a lot because they are a big team,” Makaringe told FARPost.
“Leaving was the best option at that time, but I am very grateful for how they helped me develop that hunger to win.
“At Pirates, the motto is to win all. We didn’t do permutations. Stakes are always high. One lesson that maybe one took from the Pirates team is patience.
“There were moments where we were under pressure, but we could still behave in a proper way, to say, ‘let’s not rush, let’s not commit ourselves too early’.
“What I can say is you have to be an example to the other guys. Everyone has to be an example. There were young players who were still coming up, and we could not be bad role models,” the former Orlando Pirates number 11 added.
“The lessons I learnt at Pirates shaped me and made me strong. I am a better person than before I arrived at Pirates. I’m less emotional and have a thicker skin.
“But if I was not given that opportunity, I don’t think I would have learnt those lessons anywhere else. So I’m very sober in my thinking, but we’ve seen these things happen before,” Makaringe concluded.
OLISA NDAH OUT
Meanwhile, Nigerian defender Olisa Ndah is out injured until 2025, but coach Jose Riveiro is not losing sleep.
ORLANDO PIRATES COACH JOSE RIVEIRO NOT WORRIED
“Olisa was in an exceptional moment in his career and it’s a pity that he can’t be part of the team for the upcoming months but we have solutions within the squad. We don’t have to [maybe panic] … it’s not a headache in that sense. We have quality in the squad, enough to immediately find a player that will replace [him] in the final already,” Riveiro said via Sowetan.
“Olisa didn’t play and we played an international player like Sibisi [in the MTN8 final]. Tapelo [Xoki] is also coming back soon … we have our captain Innocent Maela [who can also play at centre-back], we have many players who can play that role. The headache is always the same … to find the starting XI in a squad of 39 players, so this week isn’t the exception in that sense,” concluded the Sea Robbers tactician.
WHO IS THE BEST ORLANDO PIRATES PLAYER TO REPLACE OLISA NDAH?
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