As Orlando Pirates prepare to take on AmaZulu for the second time in a space of a week, Deon Hotto has revealed to the Siya crew how Usuthu coach Pablo Franco Martin tried to sign him while the Spaniard was in charge at Tanzanian side Simba.
Speaking exclusively to the Siya crew this week, Hotto admitted that he was not keen on a move to Tanzania when Martin expressed an interest in having him on board. This was during Hotto's second season with the Buccaneers, but he was more than happy to stay on with the Soweto giants.
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Hotto and his Pirates teammates broke Martin's heart last weekend when they met in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals, as the Buccaneers came from a goal down in a drama-filled encounter to secure a 4-2 victory over the KZN outfit at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
A second meeting in a space of a week is scheduled for Saturday, this time in the DSTV Premiership at Orlando Pirates, with Hotto and company eager to upset Usuthu again.
"It's a good team. They have a good coach. I know the coach personally, also. When he was still in Tanzania...in my second season with Pirates, he wanted to sign me. He wanted me to come to Simba. I am still happy where I am. I am okay," the 33-year-old former Bidvest Wits and Bloemfontein Celtic player said.
"We need to continue where we left off (last weekend) and take the positives. We've done our analysis already and we need to go there and give our all. To be honest, we need these points. We want to go play in Africa next season. For us, it's just to keep a clean sheet. It's not about what I've seen from the last weekend's game. I have been watching them because my home boy (Riaan Hanamub) plays there. I watch his games when he plays. They get the ball to the fullbacks and cross them into the box. We just need to deal with those balls. If you can deal with those balls, half the job is done."
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Third-placed Pirates are in a good position to finish second and qualify for the CAF Champions League next season. They seem to be peaking at the right time to fully challenge for a spot in the continental club competition, with the likes of Tshegofatso Mabasa, Kabelo Dlamini, Patrick Maswanganyi and Relebohile Mofokeng in good form.
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