'My Move To Pirates Came As A Shock'

Former Orlando Pirates player Alfred Ndengane has revealed his move to the Buccaneers was a big surprise to him because of when it happened.

Soccer Laduma got in touch with the player, who is currently a free agent, to talk about the season he spent with the Soweto giants. 

The years

I was at Pirates between 2019 and 2020. I had the best time of my life at pirates and as you know it's a life changing opportunity, I'll always be grateful. We had the best team that season and when I got there, it was a full of senior players that played the game for long, hence we ended second place to Mamelodi Sundowns by two points. 

How the move happened

My move to Pirates happened when Celtic were struggling financially and it came as a shock to everyone, including to me and my family. The move helped Celtic financially. At the time I made the move to Pirates, we were doing well at Celtic and we were number two on the log because we won all the opening five games under Coach Steve Komphela. I was shocked because we were five games into the season. Normally we you before the start of the season or during the January transfer window.

My first day at Pirates

I remember my first day quite well and I was so excited. But it was funny at the same time because two weeks before making my move to Pirates, we we played against them and now I was being introduced to the same players as their new teammate. It was quite a funny moment. 

My debut

I was so excited to make a debut for the team and if you remember, I had to wait four months for that and it was against Chippa were we won the game 4-1 at Orlando Stadium.

I played with best players at Pirates with lots of talent and it's hard to single out one or two players. But it was good to witness Nyoso (Thembinkosi Lorch) in my first season where he won the footballer of the season award. I met top human beings there that I still keep in touch with to this day.

Most memorable moment

My best moment at Pirates was obviously playing in the Soweto derby. I also got to play in the (CAF) Champions league in 2019 and we finished second to Sundowns that season. Those were the highlights of my career.

Why I left

My second season was a bit difficult, where I was not getting enough game time. At Pirates, you need to be on top your game each and every time you are given a chance or you'll lose your place in the team. So game time was hard to come by. 

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