Pule took inspiration from Siphiwe Tshabalala

In-form Orlando Pirates star Vincent Pule has courted controversy by admitting former Kaizer Chiefs winger Siphiwe Tshabablala was one of his main influences when growing up.

While many in South Africa idolise Tshabalala, especially after his exploits at the 2010 World Cup, such an admission from a current Bucs player may not go down too well due to the club's massive rivalry.

However, Pule has been a fan of Tshabalala from long before either of them joined one of the Soweto Giants. He idiolized the former Bafana Bafana star from when was playing for African Warriors and was a ball-boy for Free State Stars.

"I arrived at Warriors as a skinny kid but I think [head coach] Thami Ngubane saw something in me that he thought would be of use to him in his team," Pule told KickOff.

"We have never had many players from Phuthaditjhaba that I know of besides Paulus Masehe. And what inspired me was that I used to see players like Siphiwe Tshabalala going to training because they stayed in my hood while they were with Free State Stars.

"I was also always a ball-boy for the old African Warriors which had Fees Moloi, Ace Gulwa, Joseph Bwalya, Lereko [Mathe] and Molefi [Sekhokho].

"Whenever they played at Charles Mopeli Stadium, I was inspired by being close to the field that I also saw myself becoming a professional player."

- TEAMtalk media