Tlou Segolela: The Orlando Pirates “Gautrain” Who Wants a Second Star
So Tlou Segolela is trending in South Africa, and if you were watching the PSL around 2010 and 2011 you already know the name. Gautrain. The fast winger from Orlando Pirates. This weekend he told Pirates it is time to win the CAF Champions League again and add a second star to the badge, and that got people talking about him again.
For those who do not know him, let me explain who he is.
Quick facts
- Full name: Tlou Mashedi Segolela
- Born: 1 April 1988, in Moletjie near Polokwane, Limpopo
- Nicknames: Gautrain, Rea Vaya, Moletjie Express, Bra Sox
- Position as a player: Right winger
- Main club: Orlando Pirates, 2007 to 2015
- Other clubs: Bloemfontein Celtic (loan), Platinum Stars, Polokwane City, Polokwane City Rovers
- Country: South Africa
- Now: Coaching, with Magesi’s reserve team since 2025
Where he comes from
He is from Moletjie, outside Polokwane. He played for a local side called Seemole FC and then came through the Orlando Pirates development side before joining the senior team in 2007.
He told KickOff that he did athletics at school, which helped him learn to run with and without the ball, and he would practise dribbling through cones a lot. And you could see that later. He was very, very quick.
Pirates and the double treble
In 2009 Pirates loaned him to Bloemfontein Celtic, and he came back in 2010 a better player. That timing was perfect, because Pirates won the double treble in two seasons in a row, 2010-11 and 2011-12, which included two league titles. He was part of both.
One moment Pirates fans remember is the last day of the 2010-11 season. It was 1-1 against Golden Arrows and Pirates needed a goal to win the league for the first time in seven years. Segolela took a corner, and Isaac Chansa scored from just outside the box in the 85th minute. Pirates won 2-1 and took the title.
He also won the PSL Goal of the Season in 2011 for a solo goal against Free State Stars in Botshabelo. He picked the ball up near his own half, went past four or five players and scored. People compared it to Maradona in 1986, and honestly if you watch it you understand why.
The nicknames
The Gautrain name came from a Pirates supporter called Mzayoni around 2010. The Gautrain train had just started running and it was the fastest way to get anywhere, so it matched how fast he got into the box. Before that some people called him Moletjie Express or Rea Vaya.
His teammates called him Bra Sox though. He said his legs were so skinny the club socks did not fit, and he was always fixing them during games, and his teammates would get annoyed because they wanted to pass him the ball.
The 2013 CAF final
In 2013 Pirates reached the CAF Champions League final against Al Ahly. The first leg at Orlando Stadium ended 1-1 and Ahly won the second leg, 3-1 on aggregate. Segolela has said inexperience cost them, that they had three or four chances in the second leg and against a team like Ahly with Mohamed Aboutreika you pay for missing them.
After Pirates
He left Pirates in 2015 for Platinum Stars, then spent a short time at Polokwane City. He then joined Polokwane City Rovers in the National First Division, which later became Platinum City Rovers. He also got a few caps for Bafana Bafana between 2010 and 2015, and scored for them too.
After he stopped playing he stayed with Platinum City Rovers, first in an off the field role running the club day to day, then as head coach from December 2023 until April 2024. In August 2024 he joined Magesi’s technical staff, and in January 2025 he became coach of their reserve team. He also runs a sports development project for young people in poorer communities.
What made him special
If you never saw him play, the easiest way to describe him is that he was raw pace. He was not the biggest player, about 1.71m, and he did not always make the best final decision, but when he got the ball and ran at defenders the whole stadium stood up. Sometimes he was so quick he ran past the ball, and fans would laugh, but they loved him for it.
He was also a big game player in a team full of big names back then. That Pirates side under Ruud Krol had players like Lucky Lekgwathi, Benni McCarthy, Isaac Chansa and Andile Jali, and Segolela still found his place on the right wing. For a boy from Moletjie, that meant a lot to people back home in Limpopo.
Career timeline
- 1988: Born in Moletjie, Limpopo
- 2007: Joins Orlando Pirates senior team
- 2009 to 2010: Loan at Bloemfontein Celtic
- 2010: First Bafana Bafana cap
- 2010-11 and 2011-12: Back to back double trebles with Pirates
- 2011: PSL Goal of the Season
- 2013: Plays in the CAF Champions League final
- 2015: Joins Platinum Stars
- 2023 to 2024: Head coach of Platinum City Rovers
- 2025: Magesi reserve team coach
Why he is in the news
Pirates are in the CAF Champions League group stage again this season, in Group C with Colombe Sportive, RS Berkane and Simba. They last won it in 1995.
Segolela told KickOff that Pirates have won everything at home, so CAF is the one that is left, and he said it is high time. He even said coach Abdeslam Ouaddou must know that if they do not get it, people will see it as a fail. Strong words. But that is how he feels about his old club, and plenty of Pirates fans agree with him.
