Orlando Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa is extremely flattered by the praise that he has received from his idol and Bafana Bafana legend Benni McCarthy.
Mabasa is in red-hot form and has netted four times in his last three appearances, including a goal against McCarthy’s Cape Town City side.
McCarthy, who scored 10 goals in 24 appearances for the Buccanneers and is arguably the most decorated South African striker of all time, said that Mabasa reminds him a lot of himself.
And Mabasa says he is humbled by the praise from McCarthy, who has always been a rolemodel of his.
“He has been my idol, I always watched him growing up,” Mabasa told KickOff.
“It really means a lot to hear that and from the bottom of my heart I cant express how it made feel to hear such words from him. It means a lot coming from a [UEFA] Champions League winner and I really appreciate it.”
But the former Bloemfontein Celtic man would prefer that all the accolades not be directed at him, but rather to the Buccanneers’ team effort.
“It’s not about me at the end of the day but the team as well,” said the 23-year-old.
“I believe we have been working hard since the last international break. It is what we needed that time. We came back a different team with a different mentality.
“We have been working hard at training and that’s what we have been practising, scoring goals. Before the break we struggled to score goals but afterwards we managed to score six goals in two matches. A good thing is that we are working together as a group.”