By Velile Mnyandu
Bafana Bafana captain and Orlando Pirates defender Thulani Hlatshwayo has commented on being dropped from the national team squad for a first time in seven years.
The 31-year-old was not included in new coach Hugo Broos’ first South Africa squad and had to watch the 3-2 victory over Uganda on his tv.
However, Hlatshwayo acknowledged that he had a difficult season at Pirates and insisted he will come back stronger.
“We know that we didn’t do so well. I was one of the players that played all the games at AFCON (Africa Cup of Nations) and for us it was disappointing not to qualify you know,” he told iDiski Times senior writer Velile Mnyandu.
“Not being called up, I told my wife that this was the first time in the past seven years that I wasn’t called up and I can only learn as a player, you can only grow, and this is a wakeup call for me and it means I haven’t had good games.
“This is our national team, it’s not Tyson’s team, I need good games for me to be called at the national team.
“I need to do well for my team for the national team to pick me and be called up, but I need to do well for my team, and I haven’t had a good season to be honest.
“It’s one of those that I can take and I can only grow stronger and bounce back. I’ll bounce back stronger, trust me I will.”
Hlatshwayo made 38 appearances in all competitions for the Buccaneers in his first season after joining them from Bidvest Wits in September 2020.
Despite his personal struggles on the pitch, he did help Pirates to lift their first trophy in six years when they secured the MTN8 title.
To read the full exclusive interview with Hlatshwayo, buy this week’s iDiski Times. He also opens up on his struggles at Pirates this season, chats about his relationship with Happy Jele and how Irvin Khoza has helped him this campaign – all in edition 25 of iDiski Times!
