Thulani Hlatshwayo, the main inspiration behind Thabiso Sesane’s Bafana Bafana call-up

Sesane, who hails from Snake Park in Soweto, came through the Pirates development academy and also played for Pele Pele, the Bucs-aligned team in the ABC Motsepe League division.

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Hlatshwayo captained Bafana Bafana at two Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments in 2015 and 2019.

He also comes from Soweto (Senoane), which makes it understandable why Sesane would be inspired by him.

 ''I will start with my role model. I grew up watching Thulani Hlatshwayo a lot. He inspired me,'' said Sesane.

Sesane has already played in 11 matches for Pirates in all competitions this season. This is a huge improvement from last season, when he played the same number of games the whole season.

The 24-year-old attributes this to hard work.

''I would first like to thank them for the opportunity they gave me. I am happy to be here, I know that I have been working hard to get here. I think what got me where I am - is that I listen to my teammates, I work hard and listen to the coaches and never think that I have arrived,'' added Sesane. 

Sesane’s teammate and Pirates' number one goalkeeper, Sipho Chaine, has been there with him since the previous season.

He also saw the former Cape Town All-Stars defender waiting for his moment in the game and says one of his strengths is that he’s a good listener.

''I think he has grown up to be a very big boy in a very short space of time, he is a good guy. He listens, he takes instructions and he works hard like he said. And think he is in a right path to be a very good player,'' said Chaine.

Sesane had already been in the Bafana Bafana preliminary squad, and Siyabonga Ngezana's injury in Romania made head coach Hugo Broos's decision easy.