‘Goldfingers’ was a ‘unifier’
THE funeral of the late Mamelodi Sundowns public relations member Alex “Goldfingers” Shakoane will take place in Pretoria on Tuesday.
At his memorial service in Mamelodi yesterday, attended by SA’s football top brass, including club president Tlhopie Motsepe, Shakoane was described as a “unifier” and “charismatic” by family, friends, officials and fans.
Shakoane died at a Pretoria hospital on Sunday afternoon after a stroke.
According to the family, they were not shocked at the news because he had been in hospital since December.
Speaking to Pretoria News on the sidelines of the memorial service, family spokesperson Dr Lebo Shako said even though it hurt to lose her uncle, her father’s younger brother, he was in a better place.
“As much as it’s painful, devastating and a huge loss to us, because he was one of the last adults standing in the family.”
She said in his last days, the stroke affected his brain; he had multiple bleeds that resulted in him having to be operated on several times.
“On Sunday, he had just come back from physiotherapy as normal and they put him back on his bed. He gasped and passed on. It was nothing major; just the gasping and then he was gone.”
She said the family received the news while at home and accepted it.
She confirmed that Goldfingers would be buried on Tuesday and not at the weekend because his club had a continental fixture in Morocco on Saturday.
“We have to wait for the players to come back so they can also have the opportunity to bury my uncle. My uncle loved Sundowns. His children were second to Sundowns. Sundowns was his first child. We are deeply saddened by this loss.”
His long-time friend and counterpart, former Kaizer Chiefs public relations officer Louis “The Sprinter” Tshakoane, said he was going to miss his charisma.
“Alex is my cousin, he comes from the same kraal where I come from, where our forefathers come from. We come from the same royal family. And he performed extremely well with Sundowns. He performed extremely well with the football family.
“He united people in football. We have recruited international stars. I’m happy that Alex left Sundowns as the top team it is in the country. He left football united, rooted like an iron rod in a frozen ground.
“I’m going to miss his aggression, his passion, his style of operation, dressing and his style of communication,” he said.
Retired Sundowns player Teko Modise said the news of Shakoane’s death was devastating because he had not been waiting for it.
“He was the heart and soul of the club. He is the only person I know who has yellow blood.”
Shakoane leaves four children and seven grandchildren.