Makaringe’s ‘showboating’ helps us settle nerves, says Pirates star
Orlando Pirates star, Luvuyo Memela says teammate Fortune Makaringe’s use of his skills is helping the side get out of sticky situations. Makaringe was recently in the news when his ‘showboating’ in Bucs’ 1-0 win over Mamelodi Sundowns drew both criticism and applaud.
Luvuyo Memela. Pic: BackpagePix
Masandawana coach Pitso Mosimane led the mob who lynched the Pirates midfielder for his exaggerated skills display saying it was disrespectful.
But Memela says it helps them. “He has always been like that. You will notice that when he does it, the next thing (Thembinkosi) Lorch wakes up and starts troubling opponents. I also wake up, (Vincent) Pule wakes up, (Gabadinho) Mhango wakes up… the whole team wakes up,” said Memela.
“When he does it, he pulls the pressure on to himself and breaks the other team’s momentum. So, it helps us because it reminds us of our capabilities,” added the 32-year-old.
Memela is expected to lead the front line when the Buccaneers host their bitter rivals Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The gam comes with a lot of hype and activity but Memela says he tries to take it as any other game and doesn’t have any special preparations for it.
“I do the things that I I always do when I have a game coming up. Every time I have a game coming up I play it in my mind over and over again as part of my preparation. The good thing about the derby is that we usually have a whole week to prepare and I have enough time to let it play in my head,” he said.
Asked how he sees the results penning out on Saturday, he laughingly said: “I obviously try to make it a positive result for myself and the team.”
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