Albert Mahlangu Reveals Causes of Injury Crises in South African Football

Orlando Pirates great Albert ‘Bashin’ Mahlangu has lifted the lid on what he believes lies behind some of the most puzzling dips in form and injury crises in South African football – and he’s pointing the finger inside the dressing room.

The former Buccaneers midfielder, who wore the black and white for more than a decade, claims recurring injuries and sudden loss of form among top-flight stars are often linked to teammates using muti against one another.

“It’s tough on the pitch. I played for Pirates, and it wasn’t easy,” Mahlangu told KickOff, stressing that the pressure of the professional game can push players into dark corners. In his view, some are no longer just fighting opponents. They’re fighting their own colleagues.

“Where are these players?”

Mahlangu didn’t speak in generalities. He went straight to names in the current Orlando Pirates squad that, in his eyes, raise questions.

“For example, at Pirates, where is Andre Jong? Where is Kabelo Dlamini?” he asked.

He then turned to Evidence Makgopa, a striker he says he knew well and trusted to make an impact from the bench.

“Evidence Makgopa too, a player I knew very well, that he would always score if introduced in the second half, but he has disappeared.”

The pattern, Mahlangu insists, repeats itself.

“Yanela Mbuthuma was brought in from Richards Bay, scoring goals from left, right, and centre. He got there at Pirates, he scored and scored... all of a sudden, he has stopped scoring.

“Surely, there is something happening with these boys,” he said, leaving the question hanging.

Muti as a weapon, not a shield

Mahlangu is not dismissing muti outright. Far from it. He believes it has a place in the game – but only if used to lift performance and push the team forward, not to sabotage a teammate’s career.

“If you and I are teammates, you must use muti the right way. Use it to improve yourself and help the team win, not to destroy me,” he argued.

Then he cut to the core of his logic.

“If I am destroyed, how are we supposed to play? You need 11 players on the pitch to form a team.”

He widened the lens beyond Pirates, pointing to the injury situation at another Soweto giant.

“Kaizer Chiefs have five left-backs on the injury list. How is that possible?” he asked, suggesting that such clusters of injuries are not just bad luck.

“Protect your boots, protect yourself”

For Mahlangu, the modern professional environment is far more treacherous than many fans realise. He says the battles players face go way beyond the 90 minutes.

“It’s not easy in these teams. People scream from the stands, shouting at players, but they don’t know the many challenges players face,” he said.

His advice to current professionals is blunt: be spiritually and physically guarded – right down to what’s inside your kitbag.

“If you are a professional footballer, use something to protect yourself. Please protect your gear – your soccer boots, kitbag with some muti of your own – so that when your teammate tries to put some muti in your bag, it doesn’t work.”

He again circled back to absentees that, to him, fit the same worrying pattern.

“When was the last time Tapelo Xoki played a match? Sihle Nduli had just returned from injury, but suddenly he’s injured again.”

“In our time, such things were not common”

To underline his point, Mahlangu contrasted today’s long layoffs with his own career at Pirates, where he says injuries rarely kept him out.

“I played for Pirates for 12 years. In that period, I only had one ankle injury,” he recalled.

“I got injured today, and the next day I was back on the pitch. Thanks to an old man who cut open my ankle and put some stuff in, and I was at training the following day.”

He sees a clear break between that era and what he’s watching now.

“Nowadays, players get injured at training and stay out for six months. Imagine six months out? Something is wrong.”

For Mahlangu, the conclusion is simple, and the warning is sharp.

“So, players, please protect yourself. Use something,” he urged.

In a league where form vanishes overnight and injury lists grow longer by the week, his words will echo in dressing rooms. The question is whether anyone inside those rooms is ready to admit what he believes is really going on.