East Coast Breakfast celebrates soccer legend Siyabonga Nomvethe's career
Siyabonga Nomvethe, better known as “Bhele” in South African football circles, finally called time on his stellar career at the end of the 2018/2019 ABSA Premiership, leaving the game with legendary status.
Listen to the interview or read the story below:
Born and bred in KZN, Nomvethe made his name playing for Durban Cosmos as an amateur before helping African Wanderers secure promotion to the PSL in the late 90s.
He made his mark in the big league against Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs when he scored a brace in his debut season. Amakhosi soon snapped him up and, like they say, the rest is history.
He scored 42 goals for the Glamour Boys before moving to Italy, where he represented Udinese.
He played for a number of clubs in Europe before coming back home, where he played for the likes of Orlando Pirates, Moroka Swallows, and his final club, AmaZulu.
He also represented Bafana Bafana in two World Cups, with his last international cap coming in 2018.
With a career spanning over 20 years, Nomvethe is regarded as one of the best products to ever come out of South Africa and, indeed, KZN. He still holds the all-time goalscoring record in the PSL.
I had the pleasure of having a chat with him on East Coast Breakfast where he shared with me his trials and tribulations in football, the racism he faced in Europe, his regrets, his best moments, and what’s next in his life post-football.
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