Augustine Makalakalane turns 57: 3 facts about the football legend
- Today South Africa celebrates the 57th birthday of soccer legend, Augustine Makalakalane
- Makalakalane was born in 1963 and played for both local and international teams during his sporting career
- When he retired from mid-fielding he turned to coaching and coached SA women's soccer team Banyana Banyana for five years
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Today marks the 57th birthday of South African soccer legend, Augustine Makalakalane. Makalakalane was born on 15 September, 1963 and has played for both local and international soccer teams as well as the national team.
He played for local teams such as Mamelodi Sundowns and Jomo Cosmos and international teams FC Zürich and FC Baden in Switzerland. Later in life, the mid-fielder went on to coach South African women's soccer team - Banyana Banyana.
Makalakalane is an inspiration to many soccer fans out there, young and old, and Briefly.co.za decided to honour his birthday by giving our readers three interesting facts about the legend.
Source: Getty Images
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1. He was the first Saffa to play in Switzerland
Makalakalane represented two Swiss teams, FC Zürich and FC Baden. He played for Zürich from 1990 to 1992 and for Baden from 1993 to 1995. He then returned to Zürich in 1995 and stayed there for a year. After that, he returned to Baden and also stayed there for a year.
2. He coached Banyana Banyana
The 57-year-old was Banyana Banyana's head coach from 2006 until 2011. According to sahistory.org, a section of his contract with the South African Football Association (SAFA) stated that he had to qualify Banyana for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in order to keep his job. The team, unfortunately, failed to do so and SAFA decided not to renew his contract.
Source: Getty Images
3. He remained humble despite his fame and success
In an interview with Vaal Diski 9-Nine, Makalakalane said he would give his entire salary to his parents and live off the change he received from them. He said:
"I only got change but it was normal and not a burden on me, it was my family after all."
In other news about soccer legends, Briefly.co.za recently published a biography on Zane Moosa. Zane is a retired footballer and former Supersport analyst who used to play for the Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs in his heydays.
He later transferred to Al-Ahli Saudi for one year. He also played for Jomo Cosmos and the Brazilian soccer team known as Santos for several years before moving back to South Africa to join Orlando Pirates, which has some of the best-paid footballers in South Africa.
He is remembered to be part of the soccer squad that won the 1996 African Cup of Nations cup and won five caps for the national team. He regrets joining the Kaizer Chiefs late in his career since he believes he would have done his best while on the team.
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Source: Briefly News
