How Orlando Pirates unearthed 22-year-old breakthrough star Simphiwe Masilela

Orlando Pirates midfielder Simphiwe Masilela was identified during a friendly match before being brought into the club’s development system, former coach Joseph Makhanya has revealed.

The 22-year-old has made a strong start to his first senior-team campaign after being promoted to Orlando Pirates this season, featuring in 11 matches so far and attracting growing attention.

Masilela, who was born in Mpumalanga, demonstrated his ability to handle major occasions when he came on as a substitute during Pirates’ 2-0 defeat by Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 final. He then scored his first goal for the club in Tuesday’s 3-0 league victory over TS Galaxy at Orlando.

‘He was a very coachable player’

Makhanya, a former Pirates player, held coaching positions at Pele Pele FC, the club’s feeder side in the Gauteng ABC Motsepe League, as well as the DStv Diski Challenge team.

He said Masilela was noticed when Pele Pele FC played a friendly against an East Rand side, with Simon Marange and Mxolisi Mngomezulu among those who recognised his potential.

“We had an SAB [League] team (Pele Pele), and we played against a team from East Rand. So, they came for a friendly. He was seen by coach Simon (Marange) and Mxolisi (Mngomezulu) as well, who noticed his talent. We used to call him ‘Fabinho’,” Makhanya told KickOff.

Makhanya said Masilela still required considerable development when he first joined the programme, but his attitude made him stand out. The player’s readiness to accept instruction and his commitment to improving suggested he could progress quickly.

“And he was brought into our fold. He was a player who had a lot of work to be done because he was not used to this level but a very coachable player. You could see the growth would happen very quickly because he was a player who was willing to work hard. There are different types of players.”

Makhanya added that Masilela’s work rate and stamina meant he could adapt to roles requiring significant defensive and physical effort.

“There are players with screening talent, there are players with the ability that you see. If you can work with the player… Because of his hard work and endurance, it means he is a player who can fit in anywhere. Especially in a position where you need a lot of graft, he will give you that.”

Masilela spent three to four years in the development set-up before earning his promotion to the Pirates first team.