Exclusive: Pirates’ Young Sensation Mofokeng Must Be Managed Carefully, Says Former Striker

Relebohile Mofokeng burst onto the scene from Pirates’ junior ranks and he hasn’t looked back since then, taking not only the Premier Soccer League by storm but also quickly rising to fame as the best young prospect in all of South African football.

A rising star with the world at his feet

Mofokeng has been an integral part of the Buccaneers’ busy season, and despite a bit of a dip in form in recent matches, Jose Riveiro would have been pleased with the 20-year-old’s contributions in the 2-1 win against Mamelodi Sundowns in their last league outing.

The 2023/24 PSL Young Player of the Season went on to score a crucial goal for Hugo Broos’ Bafana soon after in another important match against Lesotho in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers just over a week ago.

His goal helped South Africa to a 2-0 win to lead Group C by a healthy five points over second-placed Rwanda (eight) and, crucially, six over fourth-placed Nigeria after securing another 2-0 win against Benin last week Tuesday to cap off a good week for them in the qualifiers.

With domestic football getting back in motion this past weekend, Pirates had an extended break as they will return back to action in Champions League football against Algerian side MC Alger on Tuesday at the Stade du 5 Juillet (21:00 SA-Time).

Plenty is still on the line

The Buccaneers are also in the running for the league title and also the Nedbank Cup and Sebola believes that with the busy schedule, they need to be careful on how they handle Mofokeng and his workload.

“I am happy about the coach giving other players a chance to play," Sebola told Sportsboom.co.za. 

“They cannot only depend on one player, more especially Mofokeng; the boy is still young and at times you can see that he is getting tired because he is playing league games; he also has to play the champions league and also other domestic competitions." 

“At some point they must give him some rest so that some other players can also get some game time."

“I wouldn’t want them to keep him more in the field, in instances where the team is having a lead, like it happened during the Bafana Bafana match last weekend (against Lesotho, 2-0 lead).”

“If I were the coach on Tuesday against Benin, I would have started the boy on the bench.”

“Then maybe when things are not going accordingly for the team, that is when you can bring him on, because that is also when you will also be able to get the best out of him, but he needs a little bit of rest.”

Mofokeng and Patrick Maswanganyi have been some of the standout players for Pirates this season and Sebola added that the 20-year-old has to be played in a position that best suits him.

“The boy is good when you put him on the left but when you put him in the center of attack as a playmaker, the number ten position, it becomes difficult for him to create chances and it is a position Maswanganyi is good at.”

The winning culture

The Buccaneers are currently trailing Sundowns by 15 points with four games in hand in the Betway Premiership, and despite the difficulty that lies ahead of them, Sebola added that winning is non-negotiable when playing for a team like Pirates.

“In a big club like Pirates, Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs there are standards and you have to win everything.”

“That is how it is; Dr. (Irvin) Khoza needs everything, and he needs the second star (Champions League win) and that is how you see even when they are playing away from home they get good results; it is exactly how he wants things to be.”

“They have now qualified for the knockout stages of the champions league and it will motivate them to aim higher and get something out of it.”

“They also stand a very good chance of going into the final again to defend their title in the Nedbank Cup because for the league and the Champions League, it is doubtful because if you check their group, it is not that easy.”

The noisy neighbours and their woes

Amakhosi suffered their third loss in five matches against Golden Arrows (2-1) this past weekend, and they find themselves at risk of not making the top eight for a second successive season.

Sebola, who had a chance to play the derby in his playing days, believes the club needs to be active in the market and get the right players to be able to compete with rivals Pirates and Sundowns.

“Chiefs have to go out into the market to get players that can play for Chiefs; maybe their scouts are not scouting the way they are supposed to and that is why they are on and off."

“They are not getting the results that they want with almost every match they play; they can win two, then draw or lose.”

“They are an inconsistent team and the coach is trying by all means to give some of the players a chance, even those that are coming back from injury."

"They are still going to take time to adjust but I feel that their scouting team is failing them.”