Kabelo Dlamini shares how losing weight helped his Orlando Pirates form

The former Bloemfontein Celtic talisman has featured in 23 of the Buccaneers’ 26 DStv Premiership matches under coach Jose Riveiro this season. 

Dlamini attributes his form to his current fitness levels.

"I think it's my physical condition. At first, when the season started, my weight was not fine, so I had to work on that with my personal trainer to improve where I was lacking. So, now I think I'm coming alright," said Dlamini.

"It's not the coach per se who says you picked up weight, it's the people working here in the team – there are people checking your weight and stuff, so when you come in, you weigh and check [the differences].

"I weigh 67kg [now], I was 70kg, so I could tell that this thing was affecting my performance. But since I started working on it, I think my performances have improved a lot."

The 26-year-old midfielder adds that Riveiro has brought a different dimension to his game since the Spanish coach’s arrival at Pirates. 

"The coach has helped me a lot – too much. He gives me freedom, he tells me I have a lot of quality and I must just believe, and work on that. He sees a lot of quality in me, and whatever is outside I just need to ignore and work on myself," he added.

"In my game, there were a few box entries and we worked on that. He told me, 'If you want to score goals, you have to shoot.' 

"So, you have to try because you won't score if you don't try, and you must get into the box and try to shoot, and some things will happen. And you must give assists because, when you play soccer and you do it for fun, it won't work. Football is a business."