Today in History: South African soccer legend Lucas Radebe was born
Radebe has remained an ambassador of the sport, and even during his playing career received the FIFA Fair Play Award in 2000.
On this day in 1969, Lucas Radebe, who is arguably South Africa’s greatest centre back of all time, was born in Diepkloof.
He was sent to Ngotwane High School near Zeerust in Grade 10, where he joined the ICL Birds in the now defunct Bophuthatswana Soccer League, and was subsequently spotted by Patrick Ntsoelengoe, who recruited him to Kaizer Chiefs in 1989. Lucas initially started his career at Chiefs as a goalkeeper, before moving into the outfield as a central midfielder and finally into the position that would earn him a place as a South African legend – centre back.
Lucas would spend five years at Chiefs, survived being shot in the back in 1991, made a total of 113 appearances for the club, and managed to score five goals as well (the only goals he would score at club level). His life and career changed for the better in 1994, when he and another South African legend, Philemon Chippa Masinga, moved to Leeds United for a transfer fee of £250 000. Lucas was only included in the deal to keep Chippa happy; however as luck would have it, he became the more valuable investment.
Lucas initially struggled to make his mark on the English side due to differences with manager Howard Wilkinson, as well as injuries which prevented him from earning a regular first team place. This all changed when the manager was replaced by legendary Arsenal midfielder, George Graham, in 1996, a change that would see Lucas go on to make 256 appearances for Leeds on the domestic and continental front.
He also made a huge impact on the club as captain from the 1998–99 season onward, as they finished fourth in the Premier League that season, qualifying for the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League), before he led them to third place in the league in 1999–2000 and to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League in 2000–01. Lucas’ phenomenal performances on the pitch weren’t limited to Leeds however, as he made a total of 70 appearances for South Africa between 1992 and 2003.
Lucas retired from professional soccer at the end of the 2004–05 season as a club legend at Leeds, and also with the knowledge that he had captained South Africa at two FIFA World Cups (1998 and 2002) – a feat no other South African has ever matched.
Information courtesy of: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucas_Radebe.
