Siyabonga Nomvethe

Siyabonga Nomvethe
Personal information
Full name Siyabonga Eugene Nomvethe
Date of birth 2 December 1977 (1977-12-02) (age 34)
Place of birth Durban, South Africa
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current club Moroka Swallows
Number 10
Youth career
Durban Cosmos
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– Moroka Swallows 20 (6)
National team
1999– South Africa 79 (16)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Siyabonga Eugene Nomvethe (born 2 December 1977) is a South African soccer player who has played in several European leagues, and now represents Moroka Swallows in the Premier Soccer League. Nomvethe has represented the Bafana Bafana (South Africa national football team) since 6 May 1999, and he played in the 2002 and 2010 World Cups.

Contents

Biography

Nomvethe was born in the township of KwaMashu north of Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. He started playing as a striker for the Durban-based lower league club Durban Cosmos in 1994,[1] from which he moved to Claremont Blizzards.

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. 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.[2]

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.[3] 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.[4]

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 Danish Superliga 2007-08 championship with the club, and scored a goal in the penalty shoot-out as AaB was eliminated by Manchester City in the UEFA Cup 2008-09 round of 16.[5] 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.

International

Nomvethe received his first cap in 1999, becoming a first team player from 2001–2007. 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.[6]

He has currently scored 16 goals for South Africa.

International goals

# 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 African Nations Cup
3 12 February 2000 Accra, Ghana  Tunisia 2–1 2–2 African Nations Cup
4 29 April 2000 Rustenburg, South Africa  Mauritius 3–0 3–0 COSAFA Cup
5 25 February 2001 Blantyre, Malawi  Malawi 2–0 2–1 World Cup qualifier
6 30 January 2002 Ségou, Mali  Morocco 3–0 3–1 African Nations Cup
7 8 June 2002 Daegu, South Korea  Slovenia 1–0 1–0 FIFA World Cup
8 22 June 2003 Polokwane, South Africa  Côte d'Ivoire 2–1 2–1 African Nations Cup qualifier
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 African Nations Cup
12 27 January 2004 Sfax, Tunisia  Benin 2–0 2–0 African Nations Cup
13 10 July 2005 Los Angeles, United States  Jamaica 3–2 3–3 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 African Nations Cup qualifier
16 28 April 2010 Durban, South Africa  Jamaica 2-0 2-0 Friendly match

References

  1. ^ Dasen Thathiah, Siyabonga Nomvete, Durban.gov.za
  2. ^ World Cup 2002: South Africa: Siyabonga Nomvete, ESPN, 2002
  3. ^ Bafana Bafana 1 – Slovenia 0, Safa.net, June 8, 2002
  4. ^ Sy Lerman, Striker Nomvete joins the Buccaneers, Mail & Guardian, December 24, 2005
  5. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/7953178.stm
  6. ^ http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=249722/match=300061449/index.html#bafana+beat+bleus+both

External links
South Africa squad – 2000 Africa Cup of Nations Third Place
South Africa squad – 2000 Summer Olympics
South Africa squad – 2002 Africa Cup of Nations
South Africa squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup
South Africa squad – 2004 Africa Cup of Nations
South Africa squad – 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
South Africa squad – 2006 Africa Cup of Nations
South Africa squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup
Moroka Swallows – current squad