Innocent Maela says Orlando Pirates will not rely on superstitions in their quest for an unprecedented third MTN8 crown in a row, but instead they’ll work hard with every passing game.
Maela was the most successful captain in domestic cup competitions in the past two seasons, hoisting four trophies out of five. Pirates have won and defended both the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup under coach Jose Riveiro, setting themselves up as “cup specialists” in the local top-flight.
The Sea Robbers will be eager to steer their ship to a third successive MTN8 crown this season, an achievement that would be record-breaking. And having had an impressive pre-season, which included a tour of Spain, Pirates want to build on the foundation that they laid last season and get better.
After all, they’ve cut out deadwood by releasing veterans such as Siyabonga Mpontshane, while they’ve only made one marquee signing in Deivi Miguel Vieira for continuity. And as they start their bid to retain the MTN8 crown against SuperSport United in the quarter-final at Orlando tomorrow (6pm), Maela says they’ll not only need luck.
“I don’t think it will be a lucky charm (that we need to defend the trophy),” Maela said, “I think last season we worked hard for us to be in the final.
“For us to be able to defend it last season was awesome. So, coming into this season, we’ve agreed as players and technical team that we must start from the bottom and earn it again.
“By doing that, that will give us an opportunity to be in the final again, so that we do eventually defend it. But we want to take it one game at a time.
“We know that we must work harder than our opponents. So that we can give ourselves an opportunity to go through.”
Sure, Pirates are the team to beat in the Wafa Wafa cup, but that doesn’t mean they are under pressure. After all, they already know that adversity is the breakfast of champions.
“Not at all (we are not under pressure). When you play for a team such as Orlando Pirates, the pressure will always be there, right,” Maela said.
“Going into the new season, we’ve sat down and drawn up our expectations and set our goals – every trophy that we can win, we’ll go out there and challenge for it.”
The league title, which will be known as the Betway Premiership this season, is the biggest silverware that Pirates want to challenge for. In the past two seasons, they were bridesmaids to Mamelodi Sundowns, who’ve incredibly won the title for the past seven seasons in a row.
Sundowns’ dominance, too, doesn’t put Pirates under pressure. After all, not only do Pirates know they must end their 12-year drought in the league, but they are more confident. Unlike the Brazilians, who’ve recently had shocking changes in their technical team, including sacking coach Rulani Mokwena, Pirates are stable.
Apart from releasing veterans, Pirates’ notable departure has been that of assistant coach Sergio Almenara, who resigned to return to his native Spain.
“I think we’ve set the pressure among ourselves to do well in the league to make sure that we kickstart our campaign on a high and give ourselves a chance to win it,” Maela said.
“It’s not like the pressure is coming from outside or them (Sundowns). We are not focusing on that space, but we are working on ourselves.
“Like I said, we have a good opportunity this season (to win the league title). We are locked in and zoned in, so in God’s grace we’ll make it happen.”
Maela also identified the shortcomings they need to work on in order to run like a well-oiled machine and knock the Brazilians off their perch in the next campaign.
“We have to be honest with ourselves; we need to be more consistent in our play and results,” Maela explained.
“But if you analyse it deeper, they (Sundowns) score a lot of goals in the league. And if you score goals, you’ll win matches.
“There are a few things that we need to improve on, but I believe we are heading in the right direction, and we are closer (to winning the league now) than we’ve ever been.”