The fourth season of the Sitting with Stan podcast has brought about South African soccer legend Teko Modise, who went on to reveal why he and some of his former Orlando Pirates teammates were not on speaking terms.
Any fan of South African football knows or has heard of the name Teko Modise or his nicknames ‘The General’ and ‘Tecno M’ that came about due to his command on the pitch. Teko boasted of being one of the greatest PSL players of the modern era, as his career was characterised by every accomplishment any soccer player could strive for, including captaining both his club and the national team, as well as multiple Footballer of the Year awards, including in his debut season at Orlando Pirates.
In an episode of Sitting with Stan podcast that was presented by Simtho Dladla, Teko sat down with another South African football legend in Stan ‘Screamer’ Shabalala, where he opened up about his time at Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns. In this episode, he revealed the reasons why he was not on speaking terms with some of his Orlando Pirates teammates by the time he got to Mamelodi Sundowns.
According to Teko, the demeanour and mentality that his former teammates displayed were the cause of the drift. He expresses that the way that they carried themselves was off-putting to him, as it proved that they did not have the passion that he knew he had.
Teko Modise on why he wasn’t speaking with some of his teammates at Pirates. pic.twitter.com/QTtDZExuTN
— Tshemedi (@RealTshemedi) March 4, 2025
In his moment of reminiscing, he revealed that his time at Mamelodi Sundowns taught him plenty about being part of a winning culture, as opposed to fighting to survive in a club as he felt like he did at Orlando Pirates. Furthermore, Teko spoke about the pressure that he had to deal with at Orlando Pirates, revealing that the club encouraged an individualistic mentality, as opposed to a cohesive team effort that he found at Sundowns.
As expected, long-time Orlando Pirates fans did not take well to Teko’s revelations, as they rushed to highlight all that Orlando Pirates achieved after Teko left an effort to refute his claims.
Orlando Pirates won a treble after he left—proof that football is a team sport for a reason. Sometimes, you don’t always have to be the bigger person; the game moves on.
— ubhekani (@u_bhekani) March 4, 2025
He’s just downplaying his arrogance. How can you not talk to your team mates. He had ego and believed that he was better than everyone. This is exhibited by him buying a car he couldn’t afford just for status. He believed he was a star bigger than anyone else. It’s sad….
— Sothulisa (@NtobekoNgobese2) March 4, 2025
Also see: Facebook plea: Will sponsors answer Deli Malinga’s call for awards glory?
