Lucas Radebe

Lucas Valeriu Ntuba Radebe OIS (born 12 April 1969) is a South African former professional footballer who played as a centre back.

He began playing in South Africa with Kaizer Chiefs, before transferring to Leeds United, where he played 262 matches for the Yorkshire side.

During his spells at these clubs, he picked up the nicknames "Rhoo" and "The Chief".

After playing for amateur side ICL Birds in the now-defunct Bophuthatswana Soccer League, and was spotted by Patrick Ntsoelengoe who recruited him to one of South Africa's top clubs, the Kaizer Chiefs, in 1989.

Radebe originally started his career with the Kaizer Chiefs as a goalkeeper, and then switched positions to central midfield and then finally to central defence.

Following the end of apartheid, Radebe made his debut for South African national team in their first international match on 7 July 1992 against Cameroon.

In 1994, Radebe and another South African player, Philemon "Chippa" Masinga, moved to Leeds United for a transfer fee of £250,000.

Radebe was only included in the deal to keep Masinga happy; as it turned out, he became the more valuable investment.

Initially the move was not a success; Radebe did not agree with then Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson, and suffered injuries which prevented him for earning a regular first team place.

Radebe returned to the goalkeeper position in March 1996, replacing John Lukic in the position after he suffered an injury in the second half of a defeat to Middlesbrough.

Having recently recovered from a long-term knee injury, he was a member of the South African team that won the 1996 African Cup of Nations.

However, when Wilkinson was replaced by George Graham, his career flourished and Radebe was made captain of the team for the 1998–99 season.

Whilst he was captain, Leeds enjoyed a period of relative success; in the 1998–99 season, they finished fourth in the FA Premier League, qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

Radebe was also the captain of the South African national football team during both the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

During the 1999–2000 season, Leeds finished third in the Premier League and qualified for the following season's Champions League, where they eventually reached the semi-finals.

During this time, Radebe turned down the chance to move to Manchester United, AC Milan and Roma.

Alex Ferguson commented at the time, "Everyone should be interested in Lucas."

In 2000, he was awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award.

However, in 2000 Radebe sustained serious knee and ankle injuries, which kept him out of the game for almost two years, and subsequently found it difficult to regain his form and his place in the team.

He became captain of Leeds United and also of the South African national team, most notably at 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Nelson Mandela said of Radebe: "This is my hero."

He also captained Kaizer Chiefs during his time at Chiefs.

Radebe was born to Emily and Johannes Radebe in the Diepkloof section of Soweto, near Johannesburg, as one of 11 children.

He attended the local Bopasenatla Secondary School until he was 15 years old.

His parents sent him to one of the former homelands in Grade 10, Bophuthatswana, as a way to keep him safe from the violent neighbourhood of Diepkloof Zone Four in Soweto.

There he attended Ngotwane High School near Zeerust.

South Africa failed to reach the knockout stages on both occasions; however Radebe did get on the score sheet in 2002.

He earned 70 caps for South Africa and scored two goals during his international career, with his last match being against England on 22 May 2003.

At the end of the 2005 season, Radebe retired from professional football.

Leeds held a testimonial for Radebe at Elland Road on 2 May 2005 attended by a crowd of over 37,886.

Radebe also held a retirement match in Durban, South Africa between a South African Invitation XI and Lucas Radebe All Stars at Kings Park Soccer Stadium.

The proceeds from both of these matches were combined with other money raised and donated to charity.

On 28 August 2006, Radebe announced that he was going back to Leeds after failing to secure a job with the World Cup hosts to be involved in the set-up of Bafana Bafana.

In 2008, a local Leeds brewery asked for suggestions for a new beer; the most popular suggestion was Radebeer, showing the Leeds fans' admiration of Radebe.

After retiring, Radebe was influential in South Africa's successful bid to host the 2010 World Cup.

He could also be seen working as a pundit for South African television, and during ITV's coverage of the tournament.

Thebe Mabanga, a Mail & Guardian journalist, wrote that South African fans remember Radebe in his Kaizer Chiefs days as "a lanky, flamboyant central midfielder who switched to central defence with ease, snuffing out any opposition threat with exquisite, acrobatic scissor kicks and diving headers, and man-marking the most lethal strikers into silence".

He said he was "tired of waiting for unreliable people" who had allegedly promised him a role in the national team set up as the South African Football Association prepared to host the next World Cup in 2010.

Radebe would again play in the goalkeeper position the following month when goalkeeper Mark Beeney was sent off for handling the ball outside his area in the 17th minute against Manchester United.

Radebe was brought on as a substitute in place of Mark Ford, and despite Leeds losing 1–0, Radebe earned 'cult-hero' status at the club due to his performance.