Former Ajax Cape Town striker Nathan Paulse has likened Orlando Pirates to Real Madrid ahead of this weekend’s MTN8 final against Stellenbosch.
Pirates have won back-to-back Wafa Wafa trophies in the last two seasons, and overall, five times, as they look to bag it for a third time in a row while it’s Stellies’ first appearance.
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Paulse scored the winning goal for the Urban Warriors in the 2015 final as they shocked Kaizer Chiefs, and the 42-year-old believes that Pirates may feel a level of invisibility like Madrid in the UEFA Champions League because of the number of times they have been to the final and won the trophy.
The former Bafana Bafana striker has however warned that history might not count much in this match however adds that if he was the Buccaneers coach, he’d also feel just as confident and also instil the confidence in the players that they can win it even if they don’t do well in other competitions.
“I think when it comes down to the game, I think history goes out the window” Paulse told iDiski Times.
“History is for the build-up, it is for the hype, it is for maybe the club at the right time to use that as a boost. But I think when it comes to the actual game, also, if you look at current players, the way they are, our modern players, I don’t think a lot of our modern players play with history in mind.
“But in saying that, as a coach and as a club, I mean if I was Jose Riveiro, the first thing I’m saying is, ‘That this is our cup’, because it is their cup, they’ve won it five times, I mean that’s facts. So, it gives the players that feeling of invincibility, almost similar to, your Real Madrid and the Champions League.
“It doesn’t matter how badly they played in the league season or what’s happening there, as soon as they get to that tournament, there’s this feeling of ‘this is ours’ and Orlando Pirates have shown that they got that feeling.”
