The seven years Lebohang Mokoena spent with Orlando Pirates were special as he formed part of the 'Happy People', but there were also some difficult moments before he parted ways with the Soweto giants.
Soccer Laduma spoke to the man popularly known as 'Cheeseboy' to talk about his journey with the Buccaneers, which started in the development structures.
The years
I was promoted to the Pirates first team in 2002 and I was there until 2009. I was introduced to family and culture at Pirates. I learnt a lot of things because we were taught a lot of things from a young age in the development team, in terms of the culture. I grew up supporting Pirates, so it was a dream come true for me to finally get an opportunity to be part of the first. We learnt a lot of family values before Sis Zo (Zodwa Khoza) was like a mother to us, with us growing up there. The love was there from the chairman (Irvin Khoza) as well. Everybody took really good care of us.
How the move happened
I played for Diepkloof Hellenic. Coach Eric Khumalo was running the team and he would get sponsorship from the chairman in terms of running that team from the township because a lot of people liked watching Diepkloof Hellenic. The chairman would even provide food. When the Pirates development opened in 2000 at Orlando Stadium, there were trials and the guys who were with coach Eric were immediately put into different age groups. That's how I was introduced into the development at Pirates with coach (Augusto) Palacios and all the coaches he was working with.
My first day with the first team
It was quite fun and interesting at the same time. My first session came when I was coming back from school. I joined the team in the afternoon. I got into the dressing room and the kit manager, Pule Sithebe, gave me Steve Lekoelea's number 110 jersey. I wore the kit and then Chippa (Lekoelea) came to training. He had been busy with his rehab because he had a knee operation or something. Then he asked Pule 'who did you give my jersey number to?' Then Pule said 'just sit back and watch'. So, there I was against all these experienced guys and people I had been watching on television. It was an interesting session and Chippa was cheering me on from the side. That's how the relationship started with most of the senior guys because most of them wanted me to stay in the first team after that. But I think it was not the right time. I was still being slowly introduced until I fully became part of the first team.
My debut
I made my debut in 2002/03 against Santos. We were losing 2-0 in Cape Town. Coach Palacios brought the late Gift Leremi and I on, and we changed the complexion of the game. I made an assist and then we ended up drawing 2-2. It was a valuable point for the team because it was not always easy getting a result in Cape Town.
The best player I played with
Without a doubt, it's Gift Leremi. No competition. We had a special bond. It was not just about football. He was like a brother to me and he had a bother in me. We took care of each other. We had that bond from our development days. We had good competition, in a sense that if he can do it, then I can do it a little bit better. That's how we grew as players. To this day, I am still waiting to see a player who can hit the ball with the same power with the left and right foot, with great accuracy.
Most memorable moment
It was the eras of Augusto Palacios and Kosta Papic. I think we finished as runners-up twice. As a group during those eras, we made a lot of change in South African football in terms of how the game can be played. That generation, I think, set the tone in terms of South African culture. The standard was really high and we started this 'Happy People' thing. Those are memorable moments I will never forget. People still talk about the performance of that team today. It's great when people talk about how we influenced the players who are playing currently.
Lowest moment
It was when I lost my mother in 2008. Things were not going well at Pirates. I was not playing and, in 2007, I had lost Gift. So, I went through a very bad state. I did not even feel like playing football anymore because I was just having questions about why people who were close to me were leaving. To heal was difficult and it took a while to get back to the player that I was.
