After playing his 200th game for Orlando Pirates, defender Happy Jele has expressed delight in achieving a milestone for the Soweto giants.
The skipper has revealed his excitement after clocking up 200 matches for the Soweto giants in the against Bloemfontein Celtic last week.
After the accomplishment, the Middleburg-born player reflected on his arrival at Mayfair in 2006 and his first match where he started with the likes of retired defenders, Lucky Lekgwathi, Lucas Thwala and Free State Stars skipper Paulus Masehe who remains active with Ea Lla Koto.
‘Magents’ was not a regular under coach Milutin Sredojevic at the start of this season, but has since fought back to regain his spot in the heart of the defence.
Speaking to the Sowetan, the 31-year-old opened up about his journey with the Buccaneers which began in 2006 and the fact his first coach was Micho.
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“So my debut was very nice against Maritzburg United (on September 20 2006) though we lost 1-0 (at Chatsworth Stadium). I was about 19 years old at the time,” he told the Sowetan.
"He was a good coach and he is still a good coach. I learnt a lot from him, Rhulani (Mokwena) and Benson (Mhlongo). Football changes every day and you have to learn every day. We have a good technical team overall,” added the centre back.
On his special moment with the Soweto giants, Jele added that it was representing the club in Caf continental competitions.
Pirates came close to bagging their second African Champions League trophy in 2013 as they narrowly lost to Egyptian Al Ahly on aggregate.
Moreover, the three-time capped Bafana Bafana player would not be drawn on Pirates current Premier Soccer League (PSL) title bid, as he preferred to say they are taking it one game at a time.
“It's a lot, obviously. Being a part of the club, participating in major CAF tournaments was a dream for me and winning a double treble with the team,” reflected Jele.
“It's not the end and you can't predict the future. We are taking one game as it comes (PSL title), that's all I can say," continued Jele.
“I don't know (for how long I will carry on playing). I will see with my legs, but I love this game and I'm passionate about it,” he concluded,
The former Walter Stars defender will hope to lead the club to glory when they visit his home province, Mpumalanga, to honour their league clash against SuperSport United on Wednesday night.
