Bidvest players dominate Bafana squad
Wits players make Bafana Bafana squad. (more…)
Clever Boys become Bafana Bafana
Bidvest Wits players set to represent the country in African tournament (more…)
LISTICLE: RIP John ‘Shoes’ Moshoeu
John ‘Shoes’ Moshoeu former Bafana Bafana and Kazier Chiefs player passed away on Tuesday afternoon at the age 49. He died after a long battle with cancer. Moshoeu’s skill and passion for football made him a delight to watch. In memory of this football giant, here are some highlights of his illustrious career.
1.’ Shooooooozzzzzzzzzz’ As Moshoeu was affectionately known played 73 games in Bafana colours. In total he scored 8 goals for them.
2. Moshoeu, an attacking midfielder, was coach of Alexandra United FC, an amateur ABC Motsepe League side, up until May 2014
The club that Moshoeu coached of till May 2014.
The ABC Motsepe League, formerly known as the Vodacom League is the National Second Division league and it is the third tier of the South African Football structure.
3. He played internationally as well for Turkish clubs such as Fenerbahçe and Bursaspor between 1997-2003, appearing 123 times in total for both teams.
 |
Both teams form part of the Turkish Süper Lig, which is the professional soccer league in Turkey.
4. Moshoeu became one of the oldest players to have appeared in the African Cup of Nations in 2004. Shortly afterwards he ended his international career.
Legend: Former Bafana Bafana and Kazier Chiefs player, Shoes Moshoeu. Photo: Goal.com
5.Most important of all, it seems Shoes was a wonderful human being, and an equally wonderful sportsman. Here are some tweets from former team mates and people he’s worked with:
“We became team-mates & room-mates at Kaizer Chiefs & Bafana Bafana. I will miss him & may his (Shoes) soul rest in peace” – Doctor Khumalo
— Kaizer Chiefs (@Kaizer_Chiefs) April 21, 2015
SAFA President, Dr Danny Jordaan:“Shoes was a genius on the field, an intelligent man off it. He was humble & always willing to give advice”
— SuperSport Blitz (@SuperSportBlitz) April 21, 2015
South African soccer star loses cancer battle
Former Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs midfielder John “Shoes” Moshoeu, 49, died yesterday after a prolonged battle with stomach cancer.
His agent Glyn Binkin broke the news on Twitter.
John Shoes Moshoeu sadly passed away at 15h00 this afternoon after a long but brave battle with cancer. May his dear soul rest in peace!!
— Glyn Binkin (@Glyn_Binkin) April 21, 2015
Moshoeu was one of the top players during Bafana Bafana’s triumphant Africa Cup of Nations in 1996. He was capped 73 times for South Africa and scored eight times.
The South African Sports Minister, Fikile Mbalula passed condolonces to Moshoeu’s family and football fraternity.
Just got the sad news of the passing away of Shoes Mosoeu another football legend #RIPShoes
— RSA Min of Sport (@MbalulaFikile) April 21, 2015
“Our country is poorer without him” Minister @MbalulaFikile on the passing of Shoes Moshoeu pic.twitter.com/GbJEja3QEv — Dep. Sport & Rec (@SPORTandREC_RSA) April 21, 2015
He began his career in Diepkloof with local football club Blue Whales before joining Kaizer Chiefs. He was one of Kaizer Chiefs’ most valuable players from 1988 to 1993.
In May 2014, Moshoeu hung up his boots after spending several seasons with third-tier side Alexandra United. South African soccer stars and fans have expressed their grief on twitter.
“We became team-mates & room-mates at Kaizer Chiefs & Bafana Bafana. I will miss him & may his (Shoes) soul rest in peace” – Doctor Khumalo — Kaizer Chiefs (@Kaizer_Chiefs) April 21, 2015
RIP to one of the most special individual I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. You will be missed #ShoesMoshoeu pic.twitter.com/X93PxI5tEo — Jonathan Fairbairn (@Jonoloud) April 21, 2015
The General marches forward
KICKER: The General, Sibusiso Vilakazi is not so relaxed about making it to the top.
Photo: Luca Kotton
Sibusiso Vilakazi started playing soccer at the age of 11. At 24, the captain of Bidvest Wits is the newest member of Bafana Bafana and has dreams of playing internationally in the near future.
Vilakazi started his career playing street soccer in Meadowlands, Soweto and was later signed by local team, Meadowlands Chelsea, as a goalkeeper.
The current midfielder of both the national team and the Clever Boys made his (PSL) Premier Soccer League debut in 2009 when he joined Bidvest Wits juniors and Bidboys. He says it has always been his dream to play for an overseas professional team.
Vilakazi tried out several times for Danish club Brondby FC in the past two years with a deal falling through at the last minute each time.
“I have experienced setbacks but everything happens for a reason. I have faith that it will happen someday,” he said.
The soccer star is however making strides locally having been tirelessly pursued by the Glamour Boys, Kaizer Chiefs, this past transfer window.
Nicknamed “General” by his fans, Vilakazi was called up to the national team in October 2013 and nearly a year later says he still gets excited to represent his country. “Every time I go play for the team I get very excited,” he says.
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela in his number 10 Wits jersey, Vilakazi says he prefers to spend his spare time with his family in Meadowlands.
“I am a family man,” he says but adds that he occasionally has a few drinks with his friends.
‘Vila’, as most of his Wits teammates call him, says he makes it his priority to build solid friendships with the players. “We need to have that relationship as a team,” says Vilakazi.
As for his pre-match routines, Vilakazi takes a relaxed approach. “I sit on my bed for hours, with the TV on and think about the game,” he says.
And for the question his female fans most want the answer to: Vilakazi says he currently doesn’t have a girlfriend but appreciates the adoration he has been getting from his devoted supporters.
South Africa wins for Mandela
Unite4Mandela: Supporters at the FNB Stadium in Soweto during the Bafana Bafana soccer match. Photo: Caro Malherbe
The Nelson Mandela Sports and Culture Day at the FBN stadium in Soweto saw both the Boks and Bafana Bafana play to victory.
The stadium was a alive with #humanspirit as a diversity of South Africans came to show their support for the two major national sports teams. Dressed in green and yellow, supporters came flooding in from all walks of life. The feeling was that no matter what the outcome, uniting together for a common purpose was a win for us all.
Not only did South Africans unite for their love of soccer and rugby but the day was in honour of tata Mandela #Unite4Mandela, the man who represents unity itself.
Bafana Bafana vs Burkina Faso
A sea of South African flags was seen and vuvuzelas heard as Bafana Bafana came running onto the field, ready to take on Burkina Faso.
With a score of 2-0, Bafana Bafana set the mood for the rest of the day. With so many fans cheering and encouraging our team, Burikina Faso did not stand a chance.
Man of the match, Siphiwe Tshabalala, scored the first goal in the first half and Luyolo Nomandela scored in the second half.
[pullquote align=”right”]This win helped fans regain their belief in Bafana.[/pullquote]Coach Gordon Igesund said he hoped that the team will be able to carry on with the trend for their important match against Botswana on 7 September.
FNB Stadium: South Africans came from all walks of life to show their support. Photo: Caro Malherbe
Springboks vs. Argentina
The amount of stadium goers doubled when the Springboks vs. Argentina game kicked off.
Playing their first game of the Rugby Championship Test series, the Boks brought the heat when they annihilated Argentina with a score of 73-13.
After the first half, it was clear that it was going to be an easy win. Although the Pumas held on by the skin of their teeth and showed fighting skill, they could sadly did not manage to beat the sterling team.
The Springboks showed great discipline by receiving only four penalties to Argentina out of the 16 handed out.
It was raining tries for the Boks while the roaring cheers from 50, 000 audience members gave the Boks even more steam for domination.
The team held the Nelson Mandela Sports and Culture Day Cup high as they celebrated their massive victory and Adriaan Strauss was named man of the match.
Springboks: Argentina stood no chance against the persistent Boks. Photo: Caro Malherbe
Bafana Bafana Legands vs. Italian Legends
The first match of the day was played by the SA Masters who lost 2-0 to the Italian Legend.
The Bafana Legends were the team who won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996, two years after the first free and fair political elections in South Africa. The team played on Saturday in honour of the man who made it all happen.
After the sport, supporters were treated to some culture when the stadium became alive with music from some of South Africa’s top acts. Kurt Darren, Elvis Blue and Toya Delazy were some of the musical icons who performed and got the stadium rocking.
All proceeds from the day will be going towards building a new Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.
The day was a mammoth affair for all South Africans across the country and was a great example of how far we have come in the fight for freedom and unity.
Halala: War cries could be heard all around the stadium. Photo: Caro Malherbe
Bafana Bafana’s chances go begging
BAFANA Bafana failed to record a much needed win in their friendly match against Senegal at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Wednesday night.
The team is still recovering from a patch of disappointing results which include a 2-1 loss to neighbours Zimbabwe in their last fixture.
Head coach, Pitso Mosimane, said on Supersport.com on Monday that “winning would be more important than playing fascinating football”. Having said this, Mosimane fielded a fiery attacking line up which saw Bafana create the majority of the goal scoring chances in the match.
The first goal-scoring opportunity fell to midfielder May Mahlangu inside 10 minutes of the opening half. Mahalangu, had his left-footed strike well saved by Senegalese keeper, Bouna Coundoul, after a good interchange of passing saw him go clean through at goal.
An animated Mosimane stood on the touchline the entire game urging his players to fight on in pursuit of their first-ever victory over Senegal.
Bafana Bafana’s next attempt at goal came on the half-hour mark when Katlego Mphela had his tame shot easily saved by Coundoul again after a display of good passing in attack.
Senegal did not really look threatening in attack with Bafana keeper, Itumeleng Khune, having a rather quiet game.
Mosimane shuffled the line up in the second half by trying combinations of local players who injected more pace in attack.
Both teams had clear-cut chances to clinch victory with the first falling to Senegalese striker, Dame N’Doye, who scuffed his shot from close range with just the keeper to beat. At the other end Mphela received a cutback from Maluleke with four minutes left in the game but he got closed down quickly due to indecisiveness.
The final whistle put more pressure on Mosimane who has come under heavy criticism recently for the team’s run of poor results.
About WCJ
We Should Be Writing podcast
- BONUS: What do Witsies have to say about the ongoing #WitsShutdown?Today we’re taking a look at the #WitsShutdown protests which are over historical debt and unaffordable accommodation, which have seen several students suspended, physical clashes between protestors and security and disruptions to the academic programme for many. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing, we let students unpack their views on what has […]