The remarkable statistics behind unheralded Orlando Pirates star

[p]Namibian [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hotto-deon/0vGjjZE9/"]Deon Hotto[/a] has been a stalwart, not just since signing for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/orlando-pirates/p4SF9EMI/"]Pirates[/a] in the 2020/21 season, but throughout his entire stay in South African football.[/p][p]He was signed by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/golden-arrows/C6CjDdNg/"]Lamontville Golden Arrows[/a] in January 2014 from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/african-stars/zsPjekRm/"]African Stars[/a], and later had spells with Bloemfontein Celtic and Bidvest Wits.[/p][p]Twelve years on, he has featured in 343 out of a possible 361 league games (95%), missing just 18 in that time. For an outfield player, that is an astonishing record.[/p][p]There was a spell between 2016 and 2021 when he played 148 out of 150 league matches.[/p][p]Maybe this season things have just started to wane a little for the 35-year-old. He has missed three of Pirates’ seven league games and featured in only one of their three MTN8 matches.[/p][embed guid="294fd555-8b41-4058-84ba-2e01c1a2b69c" url="https://x.com/orlandopirates/status/2107080579103531504?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]In their remarkable run to four titles in a row in the top-eight competition, Hotto has played in all 16 games, and if you add their 2020 triumph to that, the left wing-back has featured in 20 out of 20 matches.[/p][p]But he is not just a guy who plays games. Since joining Pirates, he has played 257 matches in all competitions and scored 29 goals to go with 48 assists.[/p][p]That is 77 goal contributions from predominantly the left-back position. In the MTN8 alone, he has four goals and five assists in 22 games for the Buccaneers.[/p][p]There are flashier players on the pitch, but Hotto must be one of their three or four most important players of the last five years.[/p][p]Can he help them to another title on Saturday?[/p][p] [/p][infobox id="584d9683-f419-4696-8cb3-c155213092a0" /]