Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Hleza Mofedi is brimming with confidence that the Buccaneers will be crowned champions this weekend, needing just a win in their remaining two matches to secure the Betway Premiership title. Speaking to Soccer Laduma, Mofedi drew direct parallels between the current campaign and the 2002/03 season, when he played a pivotal role under coach Roy Barreto in delivering the club’s second Betway Premiership title. “It reminds me of our time when we won the league in 2002,” Mofedi said, recalling tense final fixtures against Jomo Cosmos and Wits University that his side navigated successfully. Now, he believes the squad deserves full credit for their performances, declaring, “We are Happy People! It is so nice to belong to the Orlando Amstel Arena, right now.”
The stakes extend far beyond a single league crown. If Orlando Pirates can defeat either Durban City or Orbit College in their upcoming fixtures, they will become the first team in South African football history to win three trebles in a single season. The Buccaneers’ first treble came in 2011 under Ruud Krol, a campaign widely regarded as the turning point for the club’s modern fortunes. The following season, they repeated the feat, capturing the MTN8, Telkom Knockout, and the league title, cementing their legacy as a dominant force in domestic football.
Now, over a decade later, the Soweto giants stand on the brink of rewriting history once again under Moroccan coach Abdeslam Ouaddou. The current squad has a chance to etch their names alongside the legendary teams of 2011 and 2012, and Mofedi’s faith in this group mirrors the belief that carried his own team to glory. With two matches standing between them and an unprecedented achievement, all eyes will be on Orlando Pirates this weekend as they chase immortality.