Orlando Pirates reserve team coach Joseph Makhanya has expressed his pride in the meteoric rise of Relebohile Mofokeng and Mohau Nkota in the first team.
Makhanya had the 20-year-old forwards under his guidance for two seasons where they thrived in the DStv Diski Challenge before earning promotions to the first team.
And their upward trajectory continued, perhaps even excelled under Jose Riveiro, with Mofokeng now a full senior international for South Africa and one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Of late, Nkota has become an integral part of the first eleven, scoring four goals in eight games this season.
“It really brings me happiness because I’m a product of development, I went through the ranks at Pirates and graduated, which is something which brings me pride when players graduate from the [DDC squad],” he said.
“The biggest takeaway is getting them to that level where they can showcase their talent at the highest level of our football. It also comes with a bit of showing off with them being called cocomelon because these cartoons [for babies] are centre stage which is something that is nice [for them].
“Kudos to the bravery of those coaches, especially at that level, the integration has to be good because you get also by trying to make sure you make them when it can also break them – so it’s important that they get into that level and still perform the way we know them.
“If you check how Rele was integrated, Nkota was integrated, it tells you the head coach knows what he is doing, he doesn’t give them 15 minutes only, that’s why Rele is being called Ratomo rei fetsa because he starts and finishes matches.
“It means that he has responsibility, a load of it on the shoulders of a young kid, also which can serve as a bit of something we should be wary of, making sure we protect this talent, so it doesn’t attract bad things, building consistency, knowing what he’s doing and why he is doing it – which is something that we need to give credit to Riveiro.
“Other teams have also started believing they can introduce a whole lot of youngsters – look how Stellies did their things now, the same players at Stellies are introducing at a young age are the same players who will be bought by the big teams, so why not be brave.”
Several DDC products are now thriving in the top-flight as the U23 reserve league starts to bear fruits.
