Former Orlando Pirates winger Phenyo Mongala has revealed how delighted he was when he signed for the Buccaneers and got to play with an idol of his.
Soccer Laduma caught up with the former Botswana national team player to find out what it was like to play for Pirates and how he felt when he met Joseph Makhanya, his idol.
The years
I was at Pirates from 2009 until 2011. Firstly, people think I had a short time at Pirates. In terms of numbers, it was short, but I really enjoyed my journey with Pirates. As a Motswana from Botswana, signing a contract with Pirates meant a lot. Seeing myself wearing the black and white jersey was special. To compete with the likes of Teko Modise, Bennett Chenene and Tlou Segolela was amazing. Winning the treble was also an incredible feeling, because at the time I joined Pirates, the team had gone for years without winning a trophy.
How the move happened
I was playing for University of Pretoria. We were playing in the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup against Kaizer Chiefs. I had a beautiful game and we beat Chiefs 4-3. After that win, we got a lot of attention from bigger clubs. There was Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and AmaZulu. My manager from Botswana had a close relationship with Pirates. They got in touch and then they agreed for me to join Pirates. I was born a Chiefs fan, but you know how life is. I wanted to play for Chiefs, but I was happy to sign with Pirates.
The make up of the team
When I got there, most of the players were on top form. The likes of Lucky Lekgwathi, Lucas Thwala, Rooi Mahamutsa, Happy Jele, Bennett Chenene...Teko Modise was player of the season at that time. There was Katlego Mashego. There were a lot of quality players and they welcomed me with warm hands. There was too much quality and we had great characters. It was important to have those characters because we were still young and we learnt from those guys. When we saw the senior players working hard, we knew we had to do the same. There was no laziness in the Pirates dressing room. We had to copy what they were doing. (Andile) Jali and I were still young, but they showed us that Pirates are a big team. We had to compete for the starting line-up.
My first day at Pirates
I stayed in a hotel for two or three months after joining Pirates. At the time, it was pre-season and Pirates were waiting to loan out and release some players so that we can have accommodation at the club apartments. This was still the pre-season period and the club had not made decisions on who was going and who was staying. On my first day, they picked me up from the hotel to go to the club. I met coach Ruud Krol. Williams Okpara was there and I think Craig Rosslee was also there. We had a strong technical team. The captains were Lucky Lekgwathi, Lucas Thwala and Lehlohonolo Seema. Those were big names, so it was beautiful to be welcomed at Pirates.
My debut
It was at Peter Mokaba Stadium against Manchester City (in the Vodacom Challenge). I came on as a substitute in the second half. I'll never forget that day because it was my first time wearing an Orlando Pirates jersey and I also scored. I was the first Motswana to score a goal against an English Premier League team. I scored the second goal and we won 2-0. That Manchester City team had the likes of (Nigel) De Jong, (Aleksander) Kolarov, Benjamin Mwaruwari, (Pablo) Zabaleta and (Stephen) Ireland.
The best player I played with
We had a lot of quality players. When I got there, Teko had been voted player of the season. Thulasizwe Mbuyane was buzzing and there was Isaac Chansa as well. Lucas Thwala was our player of the season and he was our top scorer as a defender. We had Joseph Makhanya, who was my idol. When I got to Pirates, I told him that they used to call me by his nickname when I was playing in Botswana. But, I'd say the best player for me was Thulasizwe Mbuyane. He would step up in the big games.
Most memorable moment
It was to be winning the treble. That was one of the biggest achievements in my career. I was the first Motswana to win a treble and I am still the only one. It's going to take ages, but we know that records can be broken. But it's going to take years.
Lowest moment
It was when I got injured. I suffered a lot of injuries. I did surgeries on both knees.
Why I left Pirates
The technical team changed. They brought in Julio Leal and, during pre-season, I could see that I was not in his plans. I went to the office and spoke to Floyd (Mbele), so I asked to be loaned out. They agreed and I went to Bloemfontein Celtic on loan. I never went back after the loan period because my contract was over.
