Abednigo Valdez "Shaka" Ngcobo (10 May 1950 – 1 November 2014)Mark Gleeson
″Kaizer Chiefs legend Shaka Ngcobo dies.″
In:

Business Day (South Africa) ''Business Day'' is a national daily newspaper in South Africa, published weekdays (Monday to Friday) and also available as an e-paper. Based in Parktown, Johannesburg, it is edited by Alexander Parker and published by Arena Holdings, which is ...

, 3 November 2014. was a South African association football player who played in South Africa for

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks was a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (1968–84), No ...

, Denver Dynamos and

Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) is a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premiership. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Kings" or "Chiefs" in Zu ...

Club career

Ngcobo was born in

Cato Manor Cato Manor is a settlement located from the city centre of Durban, South Africa. It was formed when Indian market gardeners came to settle in the area some time after it was given to George Christopher Cato in 1865, who was the first mayor of ...

near

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, South Africa, and started played amateur soccer at a young age for African Bush Rangers, Rand Koreans, Union Jacks. He later joined Zulu Royals and

African Wanderers African Wanderers is a South African professional football club, based in the Chatsworth township, a suburb of Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape To ...

in the new NPSL for blacks in 1971. In 1972, Ngcobo was recruited by Kaizer Chiefs' Ewert Nene when he scored six goals against them in a friendly match. In 1974, he won the league and the BP Top 8 and in the same season he scored a hat trick in a 7–1 win over

Moroka Swallows Moroka Swallows Football Club (often referred to as Swallows or The Birds) is a South African professional football club based in Soweto, Johannesburg, in the Gauteng province. Founded in 1947, Swallows are one of the original two Soweto clubs ...

. He left for Denver Dynamos in 1975 after leading Chiefs to their first ever league title the previous season with

Kaizer Motaung Kaizer Motaung OIS (born 16 October 1944) is a former South African association football player and founder of Kaizer Chiefs FC, of which he is chairman and managing director. He was nicknamed "Chincha Guluva". Early life Born in the Orla ...

and Patrick Ntsoelengoe. Motaung scored seven goals that season, providing one assist, Ntsoelengoe scored five goals and four assists and Ngcobo netted five times, while delivering six assists. The following season, Ngcobo and Ntsoelengoe both moved to Minnesota Kicks. In 1976 where he won the Benson and Hedges Trophy, Sales House Cup and the BP Top 8 he set a new record of the fastest goal scored in 10 seconds in a 3–1 win over

on 11 October 1976 in

Vosloorus Vosloorus is a large Township (South Africa), township situated south of Boksburg and just east of Katlehong in City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, Ekurhuleni, just 30 kilometres south-east of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. It was ...

. In February 1980, before being named the 1979 Footballer of Year, he scored against Highlands Park in that famous Mainstay Cup Final replay and he scored a 13-minute hat-trick against

. He went AWOL for trials in Uruguay with

organised by Mario Tuani along with Goodenough Nkomo upon returning he was fined R1000. He later played for Peñarol being striker partners with young

Venancio Ramos Venancio Ariel Ramos Villanueva (born 20 June 1959) is a Uruguayan former football striker, who was nicknamed "Chicharra" during his professional career. Club career Ramos started his playing career in 1977 with Peñarol with whom he won severa ...

and

Fernando Morena Fernando Morena Belora (born 2 February 1952) is a Uruguayan former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. His most known nicknames were "Nando"(abridged form of Fernando) a ...

. After suffering from niggling knee injuries later in his career, Valdez retired in December 1984.

International career

Ngcobo played for the ''SA Black XI'' in 1973 in a match against a team billed as ''the UK All Stars''. He played in a second match against another ''All Stars'' side in 1979, at the

Rand Stadium The Rand Stadium is a stadium in Rosettenville, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was completely rebuilt, to FIFA specifications, and reopened in August 2008, set to be utilized as a training field for teams participating in the 2010 ...

Style of play

Former Marabastad Sundowns player and older brother of

Zane Moosa Zane Moosa (born 23 September 1968) is a South African former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a midfielder. Moosa played club football in South Africa and Saudi Arabia for Wits University, Mamelodi Sundowns ...

, Essop "Smiley" Moosa said " 'Shaka' had great speed and he was unbelievably strong. He could play both as a striker and as a winger, the last position being his best, I felt. He was also a fantastic goalscorer, he had a very educated left-foot, but he could score with both feet." Former Chiefs captain between 1975 and 1986, Ryder Mofokeng said "he could dribble past defenders, he could pass, he could cross and he could shoot. He was one of the best all-round strikers South Africa had."

After retirement

Ngcobo ran a taxi business in Alexandra and lived with his wife Khanyisile and his daughter.

Death

He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at his home on 1 November 2014, after complaining of chest pains early that morning and died a few hours later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngcobo, Abednigo 1950 births 2014 deaths South African men's soccer players Soccer players from Durban Men's association football forwards North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Kaizer Chiefs F.C. players Minnesota Kicks players Denver Dynamos players Peñarol players South African soccer managers South African expatriate men's soccer players South African expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States South African expatriate sportspeople in Uruguay Expatriate men's footballers in Uruguay 20th-century South African sportsmen