Innocent Maela - It doesn’t just happen overnight

Ever since returning from loan prior to the beginning of the 2017/18 season, Innocent Maela has been one of Orlando Pirates’ key players in the Soweto giants’ attempts to return to their former glory. He has been there through the ups and downs of the last two seasons as well as the highs and lows of the current campaign, which has been put on hold fol-lowing the worldwide outbreak of the Corona-virus pandemic. In all honesty, by that point, it was not looking likely that Bucs would be marching on to a league title triumph, barring a serious dip in form by the likes of Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns in the remaining games, and all this pointed to was yet another empty season for Pirates. Why have the club’s results fluctuated? What does Maela make of the three Soweto Derby losses to their archrivals Amakhosi? How is everything coming along under Josef Zinnbauer?

Beaver Nazo: Heita, Inno. It’s been an inconsistent season for Orlando Pirates thus far. You started well, dropped halfway through the campaign, only to pick up again before the suspension of football action due to the Coronavirus outbreak. How do you look back at it all?

Innocent Maela: I think you’re right, we started the season really well and then, after that, we experienced a change of coaches. That has contributed or rather played a huge part in the team being inconsistent in terms of results. However, like you said, we picked up halfway in the second round of the season and picked up points. Therefore, if I were to put it down to one factor, I would say it was because of the change of coaches.

BN: Fair enough.

IM: I think stability plays a hug role in teams that achieve success, teams that go on and win titles and trophies. I strongly believe that if coach Micho (Milutin Sredojevic) had not left Pirates, we would have gone on to win something. Having said that, though, in football, you can never guarantee a future. You cannot guarantee success only on the basis of how good you are at the moment. Therefore, I also stand on the fence. But I truly believe that if he had stayed a little bit longer with the team, we would have achieved more than we have done.

BN: Following Micho’s abrupt departure, Rhulani took up the reins, albeit on a caretaker basis, before he was replaced by Josef Zinnbauer. How do the three differ from each other?

IM: I think all their philosophies worked for us as Pirates players. For example, coach Micho was a very understanding coach. He had very good man-managing skills and it worked for us. He was also a very disciplined coach. Then you have coach Rhulani who is very tactical, very detailed with every little aspect of the game. He was always making sure that we dominate games. Our current coach now, coach Josef, believes that as players we must have belief, we must believe in ourselves and also believe that we will walk out winners in every game we play. I can say we adjusted to all three different coaches. We have really performed well and, as players, we cannot choose which coach we want to play for. All you do is adapt to the new methods, move on and make sure you learn as much as you can so that you can grow.

BN: It must be said that you played some fantastic football under Mokwena, something a lot of Buccaneers faithful were pleased to see, but on the negative side, were leaking goals rather cheaply. Things have improved considerably from a defence point of view since Zinnbauer came in. What was the problem defensively under Mokwena?

IM: Well, to be honest, I cannot point out one specific area where this particular problem was, but what I do know is that under coach Rhulani, we were playing the best football Pirates has ever played in recent years. It’s a little bit difficult to say… it might be that we were not defending as a team or we were not helping each other in defending duties. It might be a lot of things and I cannot really point out one thing. I cannot really say coach Josef did this and that differently, but they are both good coaches. That is all I can say.

BN: Why do you think things never really worked out under Mokwena?

IM: Eish, that is a very difficult question for me to answer because coach Rhulani was doing everything for the team to succeed. Somewhere, somehow, the results didn’t go our way… that’s just how I can put it. I cannot find another way of putting it. We conceded a lot of goals and maybe we should have done better.

BN: Then there were the three Soweto Derby losses to archrivals Kaizer Chiefs. That must have been a bitter bill to swallow for the Bucs family…

IM: It was very disappointing to lose all those games to Chiefs, especially seeing that we controlled the games and did well. The fact that we walked out as losers really hurt us so bad. It was the first time since I joined the club that we lost back-to-back games against Chiefs. It was really bad, but it taught us that whenever we play big matches, we have to make sure that we give our all and that we walk away as winners. As an Orlando Pirates player and someone who played those games that we lost to Chiefs, I would really like to send deepest apologies to the Buccaneers faithful and we promise that we will do better next time. They must continue supporting the team regardless of what happened. On behalf of all the players, I want to say to them that we understand their pain and we understand what they go through after a loss.

BN: On that note, how do you, the current generation of Pirates players, want to be remembered?

IM: Very good question hey. We want to be remembered for displaying good football, but we also want to be remembered as a generation that had the mentality to win matches for the club. We want to be remembered as a bunch of players that worked really hard and as players who achieved success. That is how we want to be remembered, not as a bunch of players that were disappointing. That is why we fight for the badge every time we go out onto the field.

BN: That reminds us that when you did an interview with Soccer Laduma editor Vuyani Joni in edition 1126, just before the start of the season, you said, “People won’t remember your style of play. They will remember the champions.” That was after you came second to Mamelodi Sundowns in 2018/19. You went on to promise that you guys will win the title this season, but it certainly doesn’t look like it...

IM: That is a very good question, but when I did that interview, I had no idea that we will have three different head coaches this season. Our season has been inconsistent mainly because of other factors. I think we have done well under the circumstances. I think we’ve held our own as players and we know we should have done better, but I think we’ve done well under the circumstances.

BN: How do you feel about that you are in your third season with Pirates now and you are yet to win any silverware?

IM: It is bad, man. It is disappointing, especially looking at the quality that the team has, but I also know that success takes time. It doesn’t just happen overnight. However, to answer your question, I am disappointed but, in the same breath, I know that we will get there as a team because it is not only about me but the team.

BN: Pirates never really come out to say they are challenging for the title though, why?

IM: (Laughs) Because maybe we are not! When we are title contenders, you will be the first one to know. When the time comes, we will say it from the beginning of the season. Right now, we are not there yet, which is why we have not said it.

BN: Let’s now talk about you as an individual. During Mokwena’s tenure, he preferred a flat three at the back, with you playing more as a centre-back. What was that adjustment like?

IM: Firstly, Rhulani sat me down before he changed the formation and made me understand why he was doing that. I understood and did not have a problem with it. It took me some time to fully understand the system, but once I did, it made me believe that the way we were playing was for us to get results. Even though the adjustment took time, it made me confident because it showed me a different side of my game. It showed me that I could play as a central defender. I started enjoying the role and the fact that I could play different roles in the team, which is good for me as a player.

BN: On a lighter note, you’ve scored two goals this season, something your brother Tsepo Masilela, whom you refer to as an inspirational figure in your career, has found very difficult to achieve as he only remembers scoring once in his career. Did you two ever talk about that?

IM: (Laughs) Yeah, we do talk about it and, as his younger brother, I followed his career. He does not get into the box much and maybe that is the reason he does not get to be on the score sheet.

BN: Your former teammate, Thabo Matlaba, is a big fan of Masilela, as he previously told Soccer Laduma. How did your brother feel about you keeping Matlaba out of the line-ups at Pirates?

IM: Tsepo just encourages me to work hard and always improve. In my first season at Pirates, I never thought I would play ahead of Thabo, but the coaches believed in me. Tsepo just encourages me to work hard and learn as much as I can, but he never really talk about other players.

BN: Some people are of the opinion that Matlaba left the Soweto giants after a seven-year spell because of you because…

IM: (Cuts in) No, that is not the case and whoever understands football would know that it was never the case. He is competing with someone even at his current team. That is football. Thabo would never run away from competition. We had a very good relationship. He is a cool guy and always shared his experience with me. He didn’t take the fact that I was playing in his pos-ition, while he was not playing, negatively. He was happy for me and for the team. It was an honour for me to be his teammate because he is one of the best left backs in this country. He always told me to stretch myself and always try to do more. I have him on WhatsApp and we do chat consistently. He is a very good person and a great player. He is always there to give advice.

BN: In March, you were named in the Bafana Bafana squad to face Sao Tome and Principe in back-to-back Afcon qualifiers, with Matlaba also named in the same squad, before the games were called off due to COVID-19. What would have been your first words to him upon meeting in camp?

IM: Ha, ha, ha, I would probably make a joke and tell him that I am glad that he is there. It was going to be so nice playing with him, competing with him again and all that. I am very glad that I shared a training ground with him, and if it happens that we do the same in the national team, it would be great.

BN: Speaking of the Coronavirus, and before we wrap things up, how are you spending your time these days?

IM: You know, we are used to travelling and going to camp going to games, but now with the lockdown, I personally stay indoors watching TV, watching movies and documentaries. I also do a lot of read-ing because I like reading books. It is not easy, man, but we do not have a choice.

BN: Are you in touch with some of your teammates? What do you talk about?

IM: We are in touch. We call each other all the time. We talk about the training and, of course, how much we miss each other. You must understand that we spend 70 percent of our day together, so you can imagine how we miss one another.

BN: Most Absa Premiership clubs have been showing on social media how they have improvised in terms of training methods at this time, with the latest technology coming in handy, but we’ve hardly seen anything from Pirates!

IM: (Laughs) Well, that is not my place to say. I am not at liberty to answer that. It is not my position to answer that. My job is to train and not to know why we are not showing it out there, ha, ha, ha.

BN: Inno, let us leave it there. Thanks for taking time out to talk to the Soccer Laduma readers. We appreciate it.

IM: Thanks. God bless you.