Former Kaizer Chiefs winger Junior Khanye has identified one Orlando Pirates youngster whom he feels is captain material.
Pirates have been churning out young players under the now departed coach Jose Riveiro and one of those is defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi who was promoted to the senior team this season.
The left-footed centre-back has looked assured since March 5 when he started his second match for the club, and never lost his place since then, with Riveiro also trusting him in big matches like the CAF Champions League.
Mbokazi tipped to skipper Bucs
So level-headed is Mbokazi that few can even imagine he is 19 and had played just once in the top flight until over two months ago and his displays and conduct on the pitch has left Khanye so impressed that he has tipped him to go on and captain the Buccaneers.
“He’s a future captain of Pirates, this boy Mbokazi,” Khanye told iDiski TV.
“He has leadership skills, and you know how sometimes they say you are born for something; he was born to be a leader. Some of the things he does do not need coaching.
How has the teenager performed?
“The boy gets in the midfield with the ball, just driving for about 30m with the ball on his feet. His ball control, how he’s able to protect it and force a foul or even delay until his team-mates get into the Golden Arrows half and then hit a decisive pass,” added Khanye after watching Mbokazi against Golden Arrows on Wednesday.
“Well done to the boy. Like I said he has leadership skills and if you can look at this boy even at the back he is helping [Tapelo] Xoki a lot. So many mistakes from Xoki for me and always being late. I know he’s a senior player but the boy has quality, he is strong on his feet, his awareness, anticipation a lot of things and how he communicates, well done to the boy,” he said.
Mbokazi has played 15 games in all competitions since his promotion to the senior team and after his impressive spell, it will be hard for anyone to replace him, as he also has the advantage of being left-footed, a key attribute that coaches like but is rare to find.
