Andre Leander Arendse (born 27 June 1967) is a South African former soccer player who played as a goalkeeper.

He now works as an assistant and goalkeeper coach for Supersport United and has also been a co-presenter with SuperSport.

Playing career

Club career

Arendse made his debut in 1991 for Cape Town Spurs in the now defunct NSL, being loaned to Cape Town side Santos in 1992. He later played professionally for Oxford United, Fulham (both England), Santos, Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United.

He retired from football in 2009 winning the Premier Soccer League title with SuperSport United. In May 2013, Arendse returned as an emergency goalkeeper for Bidvest Wits due to injuries to the club's goalkeepers Steven Hoffman, Jackson Mabokgwane, Emile Baron and Ryan Harrison. This made him the oldest player in PSL history surpassing the previous record set by Bruce Grobbelaar.^[1]

International career

He represented South Africa 67 times having made his debut in 1995. He was initially in the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad, but had to pull out due to injury. His replacement Paul Evans also withdrew through injury and was replaced by Simon Gopane. He was South Africa's first-choice goalkeeper at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and retired from international football in 2004. He was also the starting goalkeeper for the South Africa team that won the 1996 African Cup of Nations.

Coaching career

Arendse took over as interim coach of Supersport United in April 2022. However, the club appointed Gavin Hunt to the permanent position, with Arendse remaining as assistant, stating that Arendse didn't have the requisite coaching qualifications should the club qualify for continental competition.^[2]