Goal ace pays tribute to Masinga:
Daniel Mudau‚ the second highest scorer in Premier Soccer League history‚ has paid tribute to the contribution of his former Mamelodi Sundowns strike partner Philemon “Chippa” Masinga to South African football – and to his own development as a player.
Bafana Bafana legend and 1996 Africa Cup of Nations winner Masinga died aged 49 on Sunday morning.
Mudau‚ the diminutive striker known as “Mambush” for the scurrying goal-poacher that he was‚ formed a deadly partnership with big centreforward Masinga at Sundowns from 1992 to 1994.
It was brief but is still remembered as one of the best in SA football in the 1990s.
It was broken up when Masinga moved to Leeds United‚ along with Kaizer Chiefs’ Lucas Radebe.
Mudau went on to become the PSL’s top scorer with 110 goals‚ a record broken by vin- tage AmaZulu striker Siyabonga Nomvethe in October 2017.
“I personally feel that I have lost a great person and a great leader. Because Chippa was not an ordinary player‚” Mudau said.
“He made an immense contribution to South African football. He scored the goal against Congo [at FNB Stadium in 1997] that took us to our first World in France [in 1998].
“I played with him at Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns. After I went to Ratanang Maholosiane‚ he signed for Sundowns in 1991‚ and in 1992 I came back.
“And we became two deadly strikers. He told me that‚ ‘With my experience‚ Mambush‚ you are going to learn a lot from me’. And I did learn a lot.
“Chippa was a year younger than me‚ but I took the words he said seriously‚ and made sure that I put them into the field of play.”
Mudau said Masinga’s physique allowed the diminutive “Mambush” to scurry many goals feeding off the scraps of the big centreforward.
“We were playing for Bafana against Zimbabwe in Mmabatho. Bruce Grobelaar was the Zimbabwe goalkeeper‚” Mudau recalled.
“There was a corner kick where I somersaulted and Chippa was there to finish.
“It was a great goal. People were talking about how Mambush and Chippa made a deadly combination.”