Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer has explained why Thulani Hlatshwayo took over the captain’s armband during their victory over Cape Town City this past weekend.

Hlatshwayo made his debut for the Buccaneers during their 1-0 victory over City in the MTN8 quarter-final and was handed the captain’s armband as Happy Jele was named on the bench.

However, Zinnbauer explained that many players in the squad are capable of leading the team but felt Hlatshwayo was the right choice to captain the side as he was Bidvest Wits’ captain as well as at the national team.

‘Happy is normally the club captain and when Happy is not in the game then it is Tyson; Tyson is a national player, he is the captain at the national team and he had the [qualifications] for this,’ Zinnbauer told the media after the game.

‘Happy also. But most of the time it isn’t important which guy has the armband and which guy has the quality to lead the squad and Happy and Tyson and maybe Ntseki are the players. They have a close circle and manage it very well. It is not a problem for Happy, it’s not a problem for Tyson.’