Lennox Bacela has spoken about how difficult it was to take the blame for Orlando Pirates' 2015 CAF Champions League final, and that the years he spent with the Buccaneers remain some of the best in his life.
Soccer Laduma spoke to the retired striker about his two-and-half years with Pirates, which saw him playing in two major continental finals, including the 2015 Confederation Cup.
The years
The coach was Roger de Sa when I got there. Being at Pirates was one of the best years of my life. I got there when the golden era of Pirates was there in terms of players and it made it great to join the team at a time it was winning. There was a winning culture and the environment that you would want to be in when you join a big team. So, I feel that I joined Pirates at a good time.
How the move happened
I was playing at Bloemfontein Celtic at the time and I was top scorer there for two seasons in a row. The owner came and said they have received a phone call from Pirates and he asked if I would be interested. It was easy for me because when Roger was at Santos, he promoted me to the first team, but he left to join Wits. Something people do not know is that, before I joined Celtic, I did a whole pre-season with Wits, only to be told by Santos that I still had a contract. But they had forged my signature. Santos ended up sending me to Bloemfontein Celtic, but I had spent the entire pre-season with Wits. When I was at Celtic, coach Clinton Larsen wanted to keep me, but he said he could not deny me the opportunity to join Pirates, because he had played there himself.
The make up of the team
The quality of that team was something. We had Senzo (Meyiwa), Brighton (Mhlongo), Rooi (Mahamutsa), (Thabo) Matlaba, Siya (Sangweni), Happy Jele, Lucky, Oupa, Andile (Jali), Sifiso (Myeni), Daine (Klate), Pelembe. There was a lot of quality in that team. That's the squad that had just won the treble, so it was easy to get there. I just wish I would have joined earlier, then I would have had the opportunity to play with Benni McCarthy and Isaac Chansa.
My first day at Pirates
When I got to Joburg, I was scared. They told me to go to some shopping centre which is next to Melrose Arch. I parked there and then I car pulled up next to me and they were like 'follow me'. We went to Fly Africa and the negotiations with the chairman (Irvin Khoza) started. The negotiations were nothing I had imagined. The chairman gave me a blank cheque and he was like 'write what you want'. The nice thing is that Roger de Sa had spoken me on the morning I got to Joburg. He told me that money is not an issue, so he said I should not be scared to say how much I want. So, I was prepared for that. I wrote down what I want and he was like 'is that all you want? Are you sure?' Then I was thought 'should I have asked for more?' But then I left there and went to my first training session.
My debut
I remember coming on for Collins Mbesuma, who was injured. It was an MTN8 game against SuperSport United and we were losing 1-0. I scored the equaliser through a cross from Happy Jele. Then SuperSport scored to make it 2-1, but I equalised again. So, I scored a brace on my debut. We went to penalties and we won it. My best is Thabo (September) and he missed a penalty and then I scored the winning penalty. There is a picture both our families have where he just missed a penalty and I am walking to go score the winning penalty. So, I was thinking if I should console my best friend. I scored the winning penalty and we went to the semi-finals. But I did not celebrate because I knew how it felt for him. When I told my father that I signed for Pirates, he almost had an accident because he is a Pirates fan. He was driving when I told him.
The best player I played with at Pirates
It would be difficult to mention one. It's impossible. Just from the top of my head, Andile Jali and Oupa Manyisa. Another one is Kermit Erasmus. I feel that with a little bit more effort from his side, he could have been world class. I don't think he should have played in South Africa again.
Most memorable moment
I have to say it was our victory over Zamalek in the group stages of the Champions League. We beat them 4-1.
Lowest moment
The lowest moment was losing the Champions League and being blamed. But that's fine. I could swap all the medals I have with Pirates for that. To be honest, I never really became myself after that.
