Siyabonga Nomvethe
Personal information
Full name Siyabonga Eugene Nomvethe[1]
Date of birth (1977-12-02) 2 December 1977 (age 46)
Place of birth Durban, South Africa
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Sabatha FC
Durban Cosmos
1994–1997 Claremont Blizzards
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1998 African Wanderers 28 (11)
1998–2001 Kaizer Chiefs 79 (42)
2001–2005 Udinese 19 (0)
2004 → Salernitana (loan) 17 (2)
2004–2005 → Empoli (loan) 10 (0)
2005 → Djurgården (loan) 5 (1)
2006 Orlando Pirates 14 (4)
2006–2009 AaB 68 (13)
2009–2016 Moroka Swallows 149 (53)
2016–2019 AmaZulu 70 (28)
2020 Uthongathi 4 (0)
Total 459 (154)
International career
1999–2012 South Africa 81 (16)
Managerial career
2020- AmaZulu (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Siyabonga Eugene Nomvethe (/nɒmˈvɛteɪ/; born 2 December 1977) is a South African former professional soccer player who played as a forward.

Nomvethe played in several European leagues.[3] Nomvethe represented the South Africa national team from his debut on 6 May 1999, and he played in the 2002 and 2010 World Cups. He is the highest all-time goal scorer in the PSL.[4]

Biography

Nomvethe was born in the township of KwaMashu north of Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.

Club career

Nomvethe started playing as a striker for the Durban-based lower league club Durban Cosmos in 1994,[5] from which he moved to Claremont Blizzards.

African Wanderers

When Claremont Blizzards folded the following year, Nomvethe moved to African Wanderers in the second best South African league. He helped the club secure promotion and Nomvethe made his first appearances in the Premier Soccer League, playing alongside later Bafana Bafana striker Sibusiso Zuma and Phumlani Mkhize. In his debut season, he scored a brace against Chiefs.[6]

Kaizer Chiefs

In July 1998, he moved on to become a part of the striking force of Kaizer Chiefs. Following 42 goals in 79 games for Kaizer Chiefs, Nomvethe moved abroad in 2001. He was then already touted as a coming star for the Bafana Bafana.[7] Nomvethe made his debut on 8 August 1998 and scored in a 2–1 loss to Bloemfontein Celtic. He injured himself and was out of action for a few months; he did come back later on that season and scored a total of eight goals. Nomvethe was put in place of Pollen Ndlanya who left the team and score 22 goals in all competition including three in the BobSave Super Bowl to help Chiefs win their first silverware of the new millennium. He scored 11 goals on either half of the season and scored Chiefs first goal of the millennium on 8 January 2000 against his old team African Wanderers. He scored 18 goals in all competitions the next season scoring his tenth against Ria Stars on 21 January 2001. He scored his last goal on 24 April 2001 in a 5–0 win over Bloemfontein Celtic in a BobSave Super Bowl quarter final in the 65th minute which was his 58th for Chiefs.[8]

Udinese

He signed with Italian club Udinese Calcio of the Serie A. In 2002, he was selected to play for South Africa at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He made his presence clear when scoring the winning goal of the 1–0 win against Slovenia.[9] Following two unsuccessful years at Udinese, Nomvethe was loaned out to smaller Italian clubs Salernitana Calcio and Empoli F.C. from January 2004 to June 2005. He was subsequently loaned out for six months to Djurgårdens IF in Sweden, before he permanently left Udinese in December 2005. He moved back to South Africa, signing on for Orlando Pirates.[10]

Aalborg BK

In July 2006, he once again moved abroad, this time to play for Aalborg Boldspilklub (AaB) in the Danish Superliga. He stayed with AaB for three years, won the 2007–08 Danish Superliga championship with the club, and scored a goal in the penalty shoot-out as AaB was eliminated by Manchester City in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup round of 16.[11]

Moroka Swallows

In 2009, Nomvethe moved back to South Africa to join Moroka Swallows, rivals of the two soweto giants, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates he represented during his domestic career. Nomvethe at the age of 34, won the PSL Footballer of the Year, Absa Player of the Season, Players' Player of the Season and the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot with 20 goals at the 2011–12 PSL awards which was a total of R600,000.[12]

AmaZulu

Nomvethe last played for AmaZulu in the Premier Soccer League having joined the team in January 2016. He was the all leading top scorer in the PSL.[13]

International career

Nomvethe received his first cap in 1999 against Trinidad and Tobago,[6] becoming a first team player from 2001 to 2007. He played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and scored the game's only goal against Slovenia. He also participated at the 2005 Gold Cup & 2006 African Cup of Nations until he lost his place on the national team, and he was not picked for either the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations nor the 2009 Confederations Cup under Joel Santana in South Africa.

But in April 2010, he was called up by Carlos Alberto Parreira for the friendly matches against Korea DPR and Jamaica. Nomvethe scored South Africa's second in a 2–0 victory over Jamaica, with what was his first international goal in three. He was selected for South Africa's squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and came off the bench as a substitute to play against France in South Africa's third and last game at the tournament.[14]

He scored 16 goals for South Africa.

International goals

Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nomvethe goal.[15][16][17]
List of international goals scored by Siyabonga Nomvethe
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 27 November 1999 Pretoria, South Africa  Sweden 1–0 1–0 Nelson Mandela Challenge
2 6 February 2000 Kumasi, Ghana  Ghana 1–0 1–0 2000 Africa Cup of Nations
3 12 February 2000 Accra, Ghana  Tunisia 2–1 2–2 2000 Africa Cup of Nations
4 29 April 2000 Rustenburg, South Africa  Mauritius 3–0 3–0 2000 COSAFA Cup
5 25 February 2001 Blantyre, Malawi  Malawi 2–0 2–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 30 January 2002 Ségou, Mali  Morocco 3–0 3–1 2002 Africa Cup of Nations
7 8 June 2002 Daegu, South Korea  Slovenia 1–0 1–0 2002 FIFA World Cup
8 22 June 2003 Polokwane, South Africa  Ivory Coast 2–1 2–1 2004 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
9 11 October 2003 Potchefstroom, South Africa  Costa Rica 1–0 2–1 Nelson Mandela Challenge
10 18 January 2004 Dakar, Senegal  Senegal 1–0 1–2 Friendly match
11 27 January 2004 Sfax, Tunisia  Benin 1–0 2–0 2004 Africa Cup of Nations
12 2–0
13 10 July 2005 Los Angeles, United States  Jamaica 3–2 3–3 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
14 12 November 2005 Port Elizabeth, South Africa  Senegal 2–2 2–3 Nelson Mandela Challenge
15 2 June 2007 Durban, South Africa  Chad 4–0 4–0 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
16 28 April 2010 Durban, South Africa  Jamaica 2–0 2–0 Friendly match

Coaching career

On 17 December 2020, it was announced that Siyabonga would be joining AmaZulu as an assistant coach to Benni McCarthy.[18][19] This is his first coaching position.

Personal life

Nomvethe married his childhood sweetheart, Nompumelelo "Mpumi" Ngubane-Mpanza (b. 1980) on 6 July 2002[20] in a secret Zulu traditional wedding ceremony at KwaMashu D-section township outside Durban which was attended only by relatives and a few people from the local community.[20] A week later, Mpanza faked a kidnapping plot and lied to the police in order to get his attention. Nomvethe and the police later found out that Mpanza had lied in order to go overseas to live with Nomvethe and according to the police, Mpanza was scared Nomvete would dump her and the baby for other girls in Italy. A local police spokesperson, superintendent Percy Mthembu, confirmed Mpanza was being investigated for obstructing the course of justice after she became unco-operative during their investigation. The angry star even threatened to kill the writer of a City Press article and said "I don't want to spill blood, but I will be forced to. Kuzophuma isidumbu ngalendaba. I'm telling you," he vowed. In February 2002, extortionists attempted to kidnap Mpanza and her baby Lifa twice at Inanda.[21]

Honours

Djurgårdens IF

AaB

Moroka Swallows

Individual

References

  1. ^ "FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 4 June 2010. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  2. ^ "Siyabonga Nomvethe". Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Retired Siyabonga Nomvethe has no immediate plans but won't be lost to football". TimesLIVE.
  4. ^ "Amazulu striker siyabonga nomvethe becomes the all time goal scorer in the psl". goal.com. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  5. ^ Dasen Thathiah, Siyabonga Nomvete Archived 13 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Durban.gov.za
  6. ^ a b "Ulwazi – A Educação constrói o futuro". Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  7. ^ World Cup 2002: South Africa: Siyabonga Nomvete Archived 15 August 2002 at the Wayback Machine, ESPN, 2002
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2015.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "Safa.net". www.safa.net. Archived from the original on 6 July 2002. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  10. ^ Sy Lerman, Striker Nomvete joins the Buccaneers Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Mail & Guardian, 24 December 2005
  11. ^ "Uefa Cup as it happened". BBC Sport. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Just rewards for Nomvethe". SowetanLIVE.
  13. ^ Gumbi, Sibongiseni (10 January 2016). "Nomvethe quits Swallows, joins AmaZulu". Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  14. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ "South Africa - International Matches 1996-2000". RSSSF.
  16. ^ "South Africa - International Matches 2001-2005". RSSSF.
  17. ^ "Siyabonga Nomvethe - International Appearances". RSSSF.
  18. ^ Manuel, Marilynn (17 December 2020). "Siyabonga Nomvethe to join Benni McCarthy's technical team on AmaZulu". Briefly.
  19. ^ "Ex-Orlando Pirates duo Josephs and Nomvethe to reunite with McCarthy at AmaZulu FC - Reports | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
  20. ^ a b "Citypress Sunday 07 July 2002 p. 5". Archived from the original on 24 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  21. ^ "Nomvete's wife lies for love". News24.
  22. ^ "Djurgårdens IF SM-guld på seniornivå" (PDF) (in Swedish).
  23. ^ "Moroka Swallows striker Siyabonga Nomvethe was the big winner at PSL Awards". Kick Off. 28 May 2012. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.

External links

Awards
South Africa squads
Categories