Vincent Pule has been the talk of the town at Orlando Pirates over the last few months, and it is not hard to see why.
The former Wits winger has already worked his way into the Bafana Bafana team, and scored the winning goal for the Buccaneers against Chippa United in the Telkom Knockout at the weekend.
Pule was returning from a knee injury that kept him out of the two Bafana Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Seychelles, so coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic played him off the bench.
And the ploy worked, with Pule coming on after the halftime break and scoring the decisive goal in the 60th minute.
But now it’s the biggest match of his short Pirates career on the horizon – the Soweto Derby against Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium on Saturday – and it is something that the 26-year-old can’t wait to experience.
“As a team, we just want to see the team play good football and doing well. The derby is a big one. As a player, as a young kid, you dream of playing in a derby. I just want to see Orlando Pirates doing well,” Pule said at a Pirates press conference this week.
“Being the last player to score in last season’s Telkom Knockout, I got a flashback when I scored this goal (against Chippa at the weekend). I was very happy, because when you are scoring goals, you always have to be happy.”
Talking about his success at Pirates, Pule added: “Speaking to the coaches helps. They are the ones who encourage us to be focused, to live well and focus on the game… looking at games and focusing on weaker points.
“As a soccer player, you have to live well, eat right food, train hard – and that’s what I’m doing at the moment.”
Now it is the big one against Chiefs, where Pule is sure to start. Can he do the business in front of 90 000 people at a sold-out stadium?
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🥅 60' Vincent Pule
🎙 Man of the Match | Ben Motshwari