Young Buc Ndaba embraces challenge of competing with seasoned Hotto

Promising Orlando Pirates left-back Nkosikhona Ndaba says being forewarned about competing with the evergreen Deon Hotto motivated him to join the Buccaneers.

Ndaba, 23, joined Pirates from Richards Bay before the start of the 2025-2026 season.

Ndaba has four starts among the 12 appearances he’s made so far this season in a Pirates shirt across all tournaments. Hotto continues to be Pirates’ first-choice left-back, boasting 17 starts from 21 outings in all competitions this season.

“I was told by many people before I joined Pirates that I must know it’ll be difficult to start ahead of Hotto — and that motivated me a lot. I am learning a lot from him and I enjoy the competition because it helps me to grow too,” the soft-spoken Ndaba said.

The defender attributed his seamless adaptation to life at Pirates to staying focused, also paying homage to senior players such as captain Nkosinathi Sibisi, goalkeeper Sipho Chaine and midfield veteran Makhehleni Makhaula for guiding him.

“What has helped me settle in well at Pirates is that I am always focused. Also the experienced players have helped me a lot in motivating me to always behave well. Sibisi, Chaine and Makhaula are the senior players I talk to the most and they have helped me a lot since I started here.”

Moving to a big-three team is intimidating enough, but choosing to go to one with such an entrenched player at left-back is even more so.

“What made me want to join Pirates is the club’s winning culture. Pirates have been winning cups and challenging for the league title in recent seasons and as a player I also want to be part of that. Hence I came here,” Ndaba said.

The left-back is expected to start off the bench when Pirates face Mamelodi Sundowns in what is expected to be an exciting league fixture at FNB Stadium on Wednesday (7.30pm), with Hotto odds-on to start.

Sowetan