The two former greats of South African football played entertaining football for Pirates and Chiefs respectively, during their heyday as professional footballers.
In an interview with Soccer Laduma, ahead of Saturday’s Soweto derby at FNB Stadium, Mahlangu and Lekoelea compare the current players with their generation.
Mahlangu said, “I mean, look at the derby today and the derby that we used to play in. It is different. I’m not criticising, but from the first whistle you would see the people dancing and watching each and every touch because they knew anything could happen.
“Today, when you watch the fans at a derby, yes, when the players come out the tunnel the guys stand up and cheer, but after that some don’t even get out of their seat for the rest of the first half… just sitting there, watching.”
Lekoelea shares the same sentiments about the game between the two powerhouses of South African football.
“I think some of the supporters have even been caught at the stadium sleeping these days. But ja, the derby today is not the same.
“I remember in the build up to the derby, I would call up Jabu to see how he was going with his preparations, even though we couldn’t tell the supporters we were talking because for them we needed to be enemies, you know,” said Lekoelea.