Mamelodi Sundowns forward Thembinkosi Lorch could have a dark cloud following him from Orlando Pirates, similar to Teko Modise, after revelations by one of his former teammates.
Modise carried a stigma of allegedly hindering Pirates from winning trophies, as, despite him bagging individual awards, he was somehow considered a 'curse' to the team winning trophies.
'The General' had a huge weight of criticism off his shoulders after he joined Sundowns in 2011, where he got an opportunity to win multiple major trophies.
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Lorch carried almost a similar criticism at Ezimnyama, and being the side's talisman, a lot was placed on his shoulders and at times the team's failings were considered his responsibility. Such is the pressure on star players the world over.
In the four trophies won by the Soweto giants under Jose Riveiro, 'Nyoso' did not play a major part, only featuring prominently towards the end of the 2023 Nedbank Cup campaign, after he was interrupted by injuries during his last few years at the club.
In a Bucs Camp documentary series, titled 'The Changeroom', former teammate Paseka Mako has revealed that during Lorch's time at the club, there were cliques, with the former PSL Footballer of the Season leading one group that had a 'beef' with Deon Hotto for allegedly playing all the games and not being substituted.
He says the whole conflict affected the team negatively.
"The Lorch and Hotto incident affected the team a lot. I'll put it the way I see it. Some people didn't get along with Hotto, I won't mention names and the guy... and we're supposed to be a team," Mako revealed in the no-holds-barred documentary.
"When we get into the field, they are not passing each other, they tackle each other. It was a major issue that affected the team. Sometimes they didn't greet each other. The guy, number 3 [Lorch], in my point of view, because he was frequently getting injured and Hotto was scoring and all that, I could say it was a jealousy thing the way I see it. Because others got involved, some are still in the team, it was very deep."
Pirates utility player Bandile Shandu, for his part, chose the diplomatic route, saying the situation could have been handled better.
Mako interjected, pointing out Lorch was the stumbling block to the issues being resolved.
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"May I interject? No my friend [Shandu], say it the way it is, otherwise it won't be solved. I remember [an incident] Lorch was in between us [Mako and Shandu]. Hotto tried to greet number 3 [Lorch] and Lorch refused. Lorch did not want to sit and resolve the issue with Hotto, because Hotto wanted to resolve it. Lorch said, 'No, I don't want to hear anything from you!' It was never going to be solved," Mako said.
According to Hotto, the incident was never resolved until Lorch was transferred to The Brazilians in January this year.