That of Patrick Maswanganyi is the name on everybody's lips at the moment, but the man who helped shape the midfield maestro in Farouk Khan says the midfielder's performances in an Orlando Pirates shirt comes as very little surprise.
The midfielder, true to his soft-spoken nature, has always been a shadow man, someone who does his work without much fuss - but his talent made it difficult for him to remain in the background.
Ten years ago, a then 15-year-old Maswanganyi followed the scores of hopefuls to the famed Stars of Africa Academy where his raw talent could be honed by renowned development coach Farouk Khan.
After all, it was Khan who oversaw the successful careers of May Mahlangu, Tokelo Rantie, Tefu Mashamaite, Surprise Ralani and scores of others who have gone on to become household names in the local game.
Unlike his more revered counterparts, 'Tito' as Maswanganyi is known, had to bide his time in the Castle [SAB] League under Khan.
It is here where he would go on to star and catch the eye of Portuguese outfit Oliveirense whom he joined from the academy in 2019. He would also star for Academica OAF.
After four years abroad Maswanganyi returned to South Africa and was signed by SuperSport United ahead of the 2022/23 season. Matsatsantsa took a cautious approach with the left-footed star who was a relatively unknown prospect by handing him a one-year contract, although they did have an option to extend it further in case he lived up to potential he had shown in his youth in Tembisa.
Khan explains how 'Tito' stepped out of the shadows and into the limelight.
"Well, I think it's a combination of factors. Firstly, you know he was in an Academy where I think he received the best development possible in the country. With all due respect, I'm not trying to be pompous, but I think the products that have come through besides Tito, I mean you got Kabelo Dlamini, you got Tshegofatso Manyama, Genino Palace, Brandon Theron, Junaid Sait – these are all players who played with Tito.
"I think it was a combination of him personally, being a very coachable, hard working boy. He had a lot of general or should I say he had talent, but the talent needed to be unearthed and that is the trick. You could have all the talent in the world, but if you're unable to unearth the talent, the players will just remain a good player like we often see players emerging in professional teams, they are good players, but unfortunately for some reason you know nobody was able to unearth that hidden gem in them.
"I think we were very lucky to do that. We were able to get the best out of Tito. And then when he went to Portugal, I also think the people he worked with in Portugal complimented the foundation we laid. So that is something that I think you as journalists have to be cognizant of, is that often players get promoted to teams, but there is a continuation where at that particular level, that is where you need to improve. There's example of Pep Guardiola with John Stones. John Stones was a good player, Pep made him a great player and so many other players, so this is the thing. So I wouldn't want to be the one to take all the credit I think to be fair, where Tito came from, there was people working, but there was no real development, but obviously exposing him to playing week in and week out in the townships helped him, motivated him, assisted him, which was important and when he came to us at the age of 15, he then was a talent that needed to be taken to the next level, which we did, sending him to Europe was then ultimately the finalization of that."
Khan says he is not surprised by the type of performances dished out by the 25-year-old that has Mzansi sitting up and taking note at Pirates.
"No, not at all. I think if you look back when we won the Castle League and we play in the play-offs against La Masia Tito and the likes of Jomo [Tshepo Matsemela] they really played well and obviously we beat La Masia on the day. But you know what having to play two games back-to-back it was a bit difficult, but Tito was outstanding, not only then, but in the Castle League, he mesmerized opponents. I mean, he played in the Castle League for about four years and in those four years, he was just out of this world. I mean, you could see him growing from strength to strength.
"Initially not and didn't really hit the ground running, we had to blood him into the team because there was also other good players before him, the Luther Singhs and the Thibang Phete's were ahead of him at that time, so he followed in their footsteps, and I think he just learned so quickly while he was in the Academy. I often believe that if you surround players with quality players and with good coaching you can produce top players."
