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Radebe caps a fairytale return
Lucas Radebe won a record 67th cap when he lead South Africa against Paraguay in the first World Cup Group B clash. His presence signals a fairytale return to the big time for the star called 'Rhoo' by millions of South Africans. Just two months ago the chances of Radebe appearing at the World Cup were nil. He had been plagued by ankle and knee injuries and not played competitively for 15 months. But after appearing in a couple of reserve matches and a testimonial for Leeds and Republic of Ireland defender Gary Kelly, Radebe was poised for a dramatic return to 'Bafana Bafana' (The Boys). Eccentric national coach Jomo Sono is nothing if not a gambler, and after Radebe survived 45 gentle minutes against Madagascar in the Indian Ocean city of Durban, he was included in the 23-man World Cup squad. Sono then named him captain for Reunification Cup matches against Scotland and Turkey in Hong Kong and South Africa won both 2-0 to turn a tide of dismal World Cup warmup results. South Africa has not pushed Radebe too hard in training as he suffers pain after sessions, but Sono believes he will survive the rigors of the World Cup. "I get goose bumps when I look at pictures of captains I have shaken hands with. Stars like Dunga of Brazil, Kalusha Bwalya of Zambia, Peter Schmeichel of Denmark and George Weah of Liberia. Radebe is the sole link between the World Cup squad and the team that beat Cameroon in July 1992 when South Africa emerged from the international wilderness. South Africa was
barred from competing on the world stage for almost three decades because
of government-backed racism, depriving hundreds of stars like Sono of
a chance to play at the World Cup. Initially a goalkeeper,
Radebe was playing for Johannesburg glamour club Kaizer Chiefs when Leeds
spotted him and he rose to become captain of the Elland Road outfit before
the injury jinx struck. Among the international
memories he relishes most was scoring his only goal for Bafana Bafana
in a Confederations Cup match against Uruguay in Saudi Arabia five years
ago. "Being someone who tries to prevent goals, I never realized what an impact scoring has on you. When your teammates run to congratulate you, that's a great feeling," he said.
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Roberts
calls it a day Where
is Benin? Ford
stalled by UCB Blatter
crushes Hatyatou Nigeria
with it all to do Gritty
South Africa Metsu's
secret The
next Haile Profiles New
kids on the
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