With alleged disciplinary issues emerging in Orlando Pirates camp, former coach Roger De Sa has revealed what was key for them to reach CAF Champions League final in 2013.
There are rumours that Pirates are experiencing disciplinary issues with some players during their CAF Champions League group stages campaign, after Patrick Maswanganyi missed back-to-back games against Al Ahly and Stade d'Abidjan.
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Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro was evasive and coy when asked why Maswanganyi was not available and suggested that it was a health issue he did not want to talk about.
After Monnapule Saleng also missed CAF Champions League matches against CR Belouizdad and Stade d'Abidjan, there are suggestions that the Spanish coach is protecting his players, for alleged misbehavior.
De Sa, who guided the Soweto giants to the CAF Champions League final in 2013 but lost 3-1 on aggregate, says what made them go that far was that players put the team first.
"When I joined Pirates everyone said, 'Watch out for this, watch out for that'. I didn't have any issues with discipline, it was actually the opposite. The players were fantastic," De Sa said on SoccerBeat YouTube Channel.
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"I remember we had a great run reaching cup finals, playing in Africa, we beat Zamalek, Al Ahly and we beat Esperance, our schedule was hectic. I remember one time in our trip to Egypt and the players called me and said, 'Coach we don't wanna go home, we want to stay in the hotel, keep us there until we finish all these games'.
"We're talking about guys like Andile Jali, Happy Jele, there were not mature yet, they were sort of up and coming young players and they were keen to say 'let's get locked up, let's get ready for games' and it was their request, not management's or the coach's request. Totally opposite," the former Bidvest Wits coach added.
After a woeful performance against Stade d'Abidjan, in a 1-1 draw, there has been talk that the alleged ill-discipline of some players is starting to affect the Buccaneers.
