The Namibia international is convinced the Soweto giants can conquer both South Africa and Africa.
In the last two seasons, Orlando Pirates have won as many Nedbank Cup and MTN8 titles and finished behind Mamelodi Sundowns in the Premier Soccer League.
In the 2023/24 season, the Sea Robbers had a chance to represent South Africa in the Caf Champions League alongside Masandawana. While the latter reached the semi-final, the former fell in the second preliminary round against Jwaneng Galaxy.
In the 2024/25 campaign, the Jose Riveiro-led Pirates have been tipped to be a force to reckon with in Mzansi football.
‘Defending Cups is not a problem but…'
Namibia international Deon Hotto is convinced the Buccaneers have enough quality to challenge for bigger trophies. It explains why the 33-year-old insists Bucs can rule, not only South Africa, but Africa at large.
“To be honest, it’s not a big problem to defend the MTN8 and the Nedbank Cup, for us the major ones are the league and the Champions League, that’s it,” the versatile attacker told the media.
“The [pre-season] talk for us has been about [winning the] league and Champions League. That’s what we want to go for because we know how to win those other domestic cups.
“It’s a project also for the coach, he is now in his third season, trying to get the traditions of the team, formations also – you can see how he’s feeling comfortable, more at home also,” he added.
“He knows what to do in this upcoming season and we as players are there to back him and the technical staff, the staff members, are supporting him and us also. There’s pressure everywhere, it doesn’t matter where you are, or where you play.”‘
‘We are not doing it for the coach'
Hotto insists this is a collective target by the entire squad and not something that has been set by the Spaniard.
“It’s not to say we want to win the league for the coach, we want to win it for ourselves and the supporters, the Chairman [Irvin Khoza] also,” the Namibian continued.
“Pressure is always going to be there and the pressure we take within this coming season is the pressure of trying to be from the first to the last game and be on top of the table, it’s the pressure from ourselves, not supporters or the Chairman.
“As players, we want to be on top from the first to the last game.”
Bucs will start their 2024/25 campaign on Saturday with an MTN8 game against a tricky SuperSport United team.
