I am hardly ever in awe of the people I interview, but the time I spent speaking to Orlando Pirates' January transfer window signing Makhehlene Makhaula for this week's edition of Soccer Laduma left me with such a warm feeling and wishing that many of the South African players had the same attitude as him. There a few reasons for this.
Makhaula is 33 and, in most cases, a club as big as Orlando Pirates would never sign players that age from a rival DStv Premiership club. He is well aware of the situation he is in and is determined to make the most of the opportunity he has been given, even though he would have loved for it to come much earlier than it did in his career.
He did not go to Pirates with the attitude that he has to walk into the starting line-up. For someone who joined Pirates after being captain AmaZulu, it would have been easy to feel that he has a right to walk into the starting line-up. But the former Highlands Park man was prepared to wait his turn and make the most of the few minutes he gets whenever he is brought on as a second half substitute. For him, there is simply no time to sulk. He has a lot of catching up to do and sulking would hinder his progress.
"Even if you give me two minutes, as long as I touch the ball and do what I was asked to do, then I am happy. I do my best in those two minutes. If you want to sulk when they give you two minutes, then that would be a problem," he said in the interview I did with him in the latest edition of Soccer Laduma.
"...If I get two or five minutes, I enjoy it. I won't sulk. I enjoy wearing the jersey and working for the team."
In South Africa, players who hit their 30s are often seen as people who are way past their sell by dates, but there are a lot of players who have shown that they can still deliver well into their 30s and Makhaula is one of them.
Players should not be judged on age, but their ability to deliver on the pitch. And judging by what we saw from Makhaula in Pirates' 4-1 victory over Swallows FC last Friday, the former AmaZulu captain can deliver for the Buccaneers at a consistent level.
He is well aware of the fact that time is not on his side and he is prepared to do absolutely anything for the team to ensure they succeed and that the Buccaneers faithful remember him as someone who played for the cause of the side.
Pirates have definitely found a leader who can certainly play a big role in their effort to win the Premiership title next season.
Check out the interview in the latest edition of Soccer Laduma and see why I feel that Pirates made a wise decision to sign the experienced campaigner, who will definitely contribute both on and off the field.
