Every once in a while, a dribbling wizard comes along to mesmerize the
Orlando Pirates faithful. Think of Steve Lekoelea, Benedict Vilakazi, the
late Gift Leremi, Teko Modise, Thabo Rakhale and Thembinkosi Lorch amongst
others. The latest in the long line of crowd favourites is Patrick
Maswanganyi, affectionately known as ‘Tito’ by his peers.
It has taken less than four months for the Tembisa-born star to convince
the Pirates supporters that he could be the next big thing in the famous
black and white. Maswanganyi has endeared himself to the Bucs faithful
following his move from SuperSport United in October.
However, for Maswanganyi, the recent fame and adulation that comes with
playing for a team of Pirates’ calibre appears to be of no bearing. “This
is a team sport. We all do well. In order for me to do well, I need my
teammates, so I don’t feel pressure or I can’t be feeling big at the
moment because there’s nothing I’ve done for the team,” he told members of
the media at the club’s open day.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to play in my first final with Orlando
Pirates and I’m very happy and we’ll work hard and try to improve also,”
he continued.
Maswanganyi could taste his first piece of silverware with Pirates as they
take on Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 final this Saturday.
