Renowned youth and veteran coach Augusto Palacios recalls coaching Orlando Pirates captain Innocent Maela, as well as his father and is getting emotional about it, speaking exclusively to the Siya crew.
Palacios is proud that Maela and three of the other Pirates graduates in Lyle Foster, Zakhele Lepasa and Thabiso Monyane are in the latest Bafana Bafana camp for the upcoming international friendly matches against Namibia and the Democratic of Congo in preparation for next year's Africa Cup of Nations tournament and the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
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"Very proud!" When you have four players in the national team who you know that you worked with when they were young, it makes for a very proud moment. With Innocent Maela there is a very beautiful and emotional story. I coached his father (Eric Masilela) at Witbank Black Aces in 1989. His father was a striker, a big and tall one," said Palacios.
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"When the boy (Maela) came to Pirates, I spoke to his father and it was very emotional for me. I mean, from having coached his father to finding myself coaching his son, it was so emotional. Pirates also did a good thing by loaning the boy to get exposure and experience in another league. Look at where he is now, he is the captain of Orlando Pirates and playing for Bafana Bafana. I'm very proud of him. He is a disciplined boy with good leadership qualities. He is versatile as he can play either as a left back or centre-back and do well in any of those positions," the veteran coach added.
