Orlando Pirates captain Innocent Maela has addressed the speculation that he’s set to retire at the end of the season.
Maela, 32, has been offered a non-playing role with Pirates when his contract expires in June, as first reported by iDiski Times and in the current season has played a mentoring role for the new generation of talent within the squad.
The rise of defenders Thabiso Sesane and 19-year-old Mbekezeli Mbokazi in particular, has potentially paved the way for the future of the Buccaneers defence and Maela, who has featured in 11 games this season out of his overall 207 for his boyhood club is seemingly set for a new adventure.
“In life like anything else you have to allow succession to happen, we all know you can’t play the game forever, right, so if you have an opportunity and God has blessed you for a position where you can influence the next generation then you have to take it with both hands,” Maela said when asked about his role with the new wave of talent.
“But you also have to have the grace within yourself to accept it because it’s easier or nice to have grace when things are happening for you, it’s very difficult to express the same grace when things are not happening, so I think for me personally, I have that grace within myself and I think God and those who groomed me – to be in this position right now.
“It’s a privilege to influence people that are coming after me, you can’t play the game forever and I think I have done extremely well for myself, the club but we will see what happens, the season is not done yet. When the time is right, the club will give out a statement, I will give out a statement and we’ll take it from there.”
Maela has stints at Witbank Spurs, Thanda Royal Zulu and Richards Bay before establishing himself at the Soweto giants and become a full senior interantional as one of the most consistent left-backs in the South African top-flight.
His last cap for Bafana Bafana, was the 1-0 win over DR Congo at Orlando Stadium before the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where he played a major role in helping Hugo Broos’ side qualify, with the highlight being their 2-1 win over Morocco at FNB Stadium in the final qualifier.
But when asked whether he’s ready, for what many may deem as a premature end to his career, Maela said he’s not willing to discuss the matter further ahead of their clash against Kaizer Chiefs
“I think when the season is done and all the discussions are held and finalised then we will give out a statement, I think right now at this moment, it will be extremely inappropriate for me to say something because the season isn’t done yet,” he stated.
“We need to respect the games that are coming and making sure our focus is there, you will know when the time is right, I promise.”