Orlando Pirates legend Sono on Saleng comparison: ‘Two games don’t make you a Jomo’
- Sono dismisses comparisons with Saleng
- Pirates legend describes them as ‘water & oil’
- Saleng has been in great form for Bucs
WHAT HAPPENED? Saleng has been dubbed the next superstar after some eye-catching performances for Pirates this season with a number of observes already comparing him with Sono, who starred for the Buccaneers in the 80s, but the Jomo Cosmos founder is having none of it.
WHAT DID SONO SAY? “Saleng comes from the league we are in [ABC Motsepe League]. He was playing for a team called Orbits, he doesn’t come from anywhere, he comes from here,” said Sono as quoted by iDiski Times.
“But Pirates took him and loaned him and he developed, now the comparing him with me. Two games don’t make you a Jomo Sono.
“Let’s be honest, two games don’t make you a Jomo, it’s a fact. I played for 20 years and I was the youngest professional player at 15. Let’s not compare things that are not the same, this is water and oil.
“Let’s encourage him, he is a very good player. Because if we compare him with Jomo and Ace [Ntsoelengoe] it’s a bit of a problem because they vanish somehow.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The 24-year-old has five goals from eight games this season and received his second call-up to the Bafana Bafana squad ahead of their friendly match with Mozambique which he started as South Africa won 2-1.
Saleng emerged as the GladAfrica (Motsepe Foundation) Championship’s top scorer in the 2020-21 season before he was signed by Pirates the following season and loaned out to Swallows FC.
He has benefited from Jose Riveiro’s arrival as the Spanish coach gave everyone an opportunity to prove themselves.
WHAT’S NEXT? Saleng will hope to be in the starting XI again when South Africa host Angola in their next friendly match on Sunday.