Former Mamelodi Sundowns captain Benson Mhlongo has recalled how Augusto Palacios turned him away when he first arrived at Orlando Pirates as a teenager in 1997.
In an interview with Lesedi FM, Mhlongo revealed he couldn't join the Sea Robbers in the early years of his youth career after being deemed 'too skinny' by coach Palacios.
Mhlongo said he was taken to the Sea Robbers by Gora Ibrahim, a former Bucs defender, who played a huge role in helping him become the player he was.
"Gora Ibrahim was staying in Malborough. He took me to Pirates in 1997, and there were the likes of Tso Vilakazi in the Pirates reserve team," recalled Mhlongo.
"But Palacios said I was too skinny, and he said, 'No, no, [you're] too skinny. Look at my players'. He showed me the likes of Gift Leremi," he continued.
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"And he said, 'You must be strong, have brackets and big thighs to run, to kick the ball and to be skilful'.
"I left and went back to Alexandra.
"From that day, I told myself that I will never lose a match against Pirates."
However, Mhlongo wasn't as fortunate to achieve that objective as he lost five games against Pirates in the 10 matches he faced them with different clubs.
He won five, lost five and scored twice against the Houghton-based outfit without playing out a draw in his entire career.
Mhlongo started his professional career with Bidvest Wits in 2001 following his acquisition from City Sharks.
He spent four years at the Students before signing for Mamelodi Sundowns, where he spent three seasons before joining Orlando Pirates at the start of the 2008/09 campaign.
For him, this was a delayed move as he would have hoped to have played for the Buccaneers earlier in his career.
Mhlongo went on to win back-to-back trebles with Pirates before injuries forced him out of the club in June 2012.
But prior to leaving the Soweto giants, Mhlongo had played 44 games and scored four goals for them.
The 39-year-old retired from professional football in 2016 after requesting his clearance from Polokwane City - this was a year after he joined them from Platinum Stars.
He returned to the club to join the technical team and be a second assistant to former coach Kjell Jonevret and later Micho Sredojevic.
