Former Orlando Pirates captain Ma-Gents Motale will forever be embedded in the hearts and minds of die-hard Orlando Pirates supporters.
This as he was the captain of the most famous and successful group of players that Orlando Pirates has ever assembled in its history.
The said group of players comprised household names like William Okpara, Phiri Tsotetsi, Motale himself, Gavin Layne, John Moeti, Marks Maponyane, Mark Batchelor, Jerry Sikhosana and Hellman Mkhalele to mention just a few.
In October 1995 Pirates played to a 2-2 draw with Asec Mimosa of Ivory Coast in the first leg of the African Champions League Final in South Africa.
Now for Pirates going to the second leg of the final against Asec Mimosa in the famous, densely-populated town of Abijan in Ivory Coast was a daunting task, this as the 2-2 scoreline in South Africa between the two teams gave the Ivorian team a huge advantage in terms of the “away goal” rule.
All that Asec Mimosa needed to do was to make sure that Pirates don’t score, and the match would have ended in an agreegate score of 4-2 in favour of Mimosa due to the two goals that the team had scored against Pirates in South Africa.
Alternatively, Mimosa only had to score one goal and make sure Pirates don’t score and that would have put matters beyond any doubt.
On 16 December 1995 Pirates, led by Motale as captain, ran onto the pitch against Asec Mimosa in a game that was regarded by soccer pundits as a “foregone conclusion” or a mere academic exercise as Asec Mimosa was poised to lift the trophy in front of their over-enthusiastic supporters.
According to reports back then, the Monday after the game had already been declared a public holiday in anticipation of Mimosa’s victory over Pirates.
But the gods of football frowned upon Asec Mimosa and its supporters and smiled upon Pirates as Jerry Sikhosana tricked two Asec Mimosa defenders who collided with each other and then slotted the ball into an empty net towards the end of the match.
The goal turned out to be a match-winner and Motale and his Pirates teammates lifted the African Champions League trophy back home to South Africa against all odds with a 1-0 victory over Mimosa.
It was reported back then that those with fragile hearts among the Mimosa fans were rushed to hospital for emergency treatment, those with weak bowels soiled their own pants, while those addicted to hooch drowned their sorrows in beer and brandy, this in disbelief of what Pirates had done to their team.
This week Motale told Tshwane Talks that the game is his most memorable match ever and that he won’t forget it in his lifetime, especially as he was the captain of the team.
Known to many soccer fans as Ma-Gents, he was actually born David Edward Motale in Mamelodi West in the late 60’s.
“I started playing amateur football for teams like Glenfair in Mamelodi and Berea Park un-Pretoria, before being recruited to professional soccer team Jomo Cosmos in 1986 by its then coach Roy Matthews.
In that same year, Cosmos qualified for the Mainstay Cup Final match against Mamelodi Sundowns but Motale was not selected for that match.
“I was young and scared to be selected for the final match and I was satisfied to sit on the bench and watch the game,” explained Motale.
Sundowns won the said final 1-0 after an own goal by a Cosmos defender.
When Cosmos was relegated around 1993, its owner Jomo Sono recommended that his players join Pirates on a free transfer without demanding a cent from Pirates.
At that time Motale was already training with his home team Sundowns, but Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza approached him and signed him for Pirates before Sundowns could do so.
Be that as it may, Motale admits that he wanted to play for his home team Sundowns but that was not to be, and he had to play for Pirates because he wanted to continue his professional football career after the demise of Cosmos.
Motale revealed that legendary Jomo Sono is still his favourite player of all time.
He insists that though many people had already written Pirates off ahead of the African Champions League Final match against Mimosa, he and his teammates had long been confident of winning the trophy right from the beginning of the tournament’s knockout stages.
“Compared to the standard of football during my playing days, I would give today’s standard of football a 45% rating, as I am of the opinion that it is not good enough,” he said.
As an amateur Motale used to play as an attacking midfielder with amazing dribbling skills, but was turned into a left back upon turning professional.
And though he was naturally a right-footed player, he played comfortably on the left side of defence as his left foot was nearly as strong as his right one, and he was famous for his overlapping runs down the left flank into the opponent’s eighteen-yard area to either score or deliver dangerous square balls.
Motale revealed that he is still a supporter of his former team Orlando Pirates.
He told Tshwane Talks that after retiring from football he embarked on a coaching career but now he is concentrating on running his own NPO, called Edward Motale Foundation, whose motto goes: Say No To Any Form of Violence.
He explained that the foundation deals with a variety of issues like soccer, the elderly, students, prisoners and anti- GBV.
Ma-Gents still wears the Stetson hat (ispoti) that was given to him by a Pirates supporter way back in 1995 after the team’s African Champions League victory.
He told Tshwane Talks that he was given the nickname “Ma-Gents” by Pirates supporters who adored his commitment to the team as well as his football prowess.
He admitted that at Cosmos as well as at Pirates he and his teammates used muthi, but that it was not to harm their opponents, but to protect themselves.
As a parting shot, Motale advised budding soccer stars to work very hard on their game and believe in themselves.