Patrick Pule "Ace" Ntsoelengoe OIS (26 February 1952 – 8 May 2006) was a South African

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who is widely considered as one of the greatest the country has ever produced.

Early life

Ntsoelengoe was born to Daniel Ndimande and Margaret Ntsoelengoe. Ntsoelengoe did not grow up with his parents, as they were not yet married when he was born. The Ntsoelengoe surname comes from his grandmother, who raised him until his parents got married. His surname remained unchanged after this. Ntsoelengoe was a close friend to

Mbongeni Ngema Mbongeni Ngema (10 May 1955 – 27 December 2023) was a South African playwright, lyricist, composer, director, choreographer, and theatre producer, best known for co-writing the 1981 play '' Woza Albert!'' and co-writing (with Hugh Masekela) t ...

. Before starting his soccer career, he played tennis and used to practice at a tennis court next to his home. He also played the

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

and the

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, earning the nickname "

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

". Ntsoelengoe grew up playing soccer with other boys in the street. He later joined an amateur coloured team, Powerlines and when he moved to

Mohlakeng Mohlakeng is a township west of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa. History The township was established in 1954. The new location of Mohlakeng was established after African residents of the then old Randfontein township of Madubulaville was ...

he joined Mohlakeng Home Stars and started to gain popularity. In 1969, when Kaizer XI played Randfontein XI he impressed Kaizer XI,

Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club, referred to as simply Pirates, is a South African professional football club based in Orlando, Soweto that plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as Betway Premiership. The team plays i ...

and

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 joined Kaizer XI at the age of 17. Ntsoelengoe's father, Daniel (born 1934), played semi-professional football with Randfontein Young Zebras. He inspired the affectionate nickname 'Ace'.sasahof.co.za/pule__ace__ntsoelengoe.html

Playing career

Ntsoelengoe spent almost his entire career with

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 ...

in his home country. During the local offseason he usually played in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In total he played 11 seasons in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

, beginning in 1973 with the

Miami Toros The Miami Toros were a professional soccer team in the North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League from 1972 to 1976. The club was founded in 1967 as the Washington Darts, and moved to Miami, where they played the ...

. He is also a member of the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a public-private partnership among FC Dallas, the City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District, and the U.S. Soccer Federation, and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, T ...

. He made his name, however, with the

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 ...

and enhanced his reputation with Toronto Blizzard. A quiet man with incredible skills, it is quite remarkable that his soccer career was confined to South Africa and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. He acquired his nickname from his father, Daniel, who was also one of South Africa's top players. While Ace spent his summers in

or in the

, he returned home during the winter to play for the

, a club with an enormous following in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. Ace played there from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s. An idol in his own country, Ace spent only one season with

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, missed the 1974 season but returned to the NASL in 1975 to play for the Denver Dynamos. When that franchise moved to

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

in 1976, he moved along with them and thus began the first of six highly successful years with the Kicks. He was acquired by

Toronto Blizzard Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...

in December 1981, when the Kicks were about to fold, and became a key figure in the Blizzard's rise to become one of the top NASL teams. He played for Minnesota in Soccer Bowl 76 and for Toronto in

Soccer Bowl The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's ...

83 and the Soccer Bowl Series of 1984. Nominally a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, he constantly pushed forward into attacking positions and often scored more goals than strikers. In 1986, he returned to play with Toronto Blizzard in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

. Ntsoelengoe represented

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1977 versus

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

Managing career

In 1985, he tried to start up his own team like

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 ...

had. He called it Ace's Mates. It only ran for one year. In 1997, he was manager of the South Africa U23 team.

Style of play

Former Argentinean manager

Oscar Martinez Óscar Martínez or Oscar Martinez may refer to: *Oscar Martínez (actor) (born 1949), Argentine actor * Óscar Martínez (basketball), Paraguayan basketball coach, see Paraguay women's national basketball team * Oscar Martínez (fencer) (born 1889 ...

remarked that the midfielder was "almost a perfect footballer. He can dribble, he can shoot, he can attack, and he can defend. He is good in the air, good on the ground and good everywhere you can think of." when the South African Invitational XI hammered an Argentina XI 5–1. Former South African national coach

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He came to prominence in the 1980s with a series of short stories collectively named the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading horror author ...

insisted the Chiefs legend was as gifted as

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

Death

"Ace" 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 ...

on 8 May 2006 in

Lenasia Lenasia, also known as Lenz, is a Suburbs of Johannesburg, suburb south of Soweto in the Gauteng Province, Gauteng province, South Africa, originally created to house Indian South Africans, Indians. It is located in Region G of the City of Joha ...

, just south of

. At the time of his death he was a youth coach at

. In tributes he was hailed as one of the best players ever produced by South Africa. One of his former coaches at Chiefs,

Eddie Lewis Edward Lewis may refer to: Politicians *Edward Lewis (Devizes MP) (1650–1674), British MP for Devizes, 1669–1674 *Edward Lewis (Radnor MP), British MP for Radnor, 1761–1768, 1769–1774 and 1775–1790 *Edward Parke Custis Lewis (1837–1892 ...

, is quoted as saying that if he had been born 20 years later, Ace would have enjoyed the same status as

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

. This is a view shared by former

Bafana Bafana The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international soccer and is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for soccer in South Africa. Nicknamed Bafana Bafana (The Boys in Zulu), the ...

coach Clive Baker, "If Ace was here now, he'd be spoken of in the same breath as

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Football player, player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He is the curr ...

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

and

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

." In 2008, he was posthumously awarded the

Order of Ikhamanga The Order of Ikhamanga is a South African civilian honour that recognises achievements in arts, culture, literature, music, journalism, and sports. Before the order was established on 30 November 2003, such achievements were recognised by the ...

(Silver).

North American Soccer League Statistics

References

External links

Ace Ntsoelengoe stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ntsoelengoe, Patrick 1952 births 2006 deaths Sportspeople from Randfontein South African Tswana people South African men's soccer players South African expatriate men's soccer players South Africa men's international soccer players Men's association football midfielders North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Miami Toros players Minnesota Kicks players Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) players Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993) players Denver Dynamos players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Canadian National Soccer League players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Kaizer Chiefs F.C. players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada South African expatriate sportspeople in Canada South African expatriate sportspeople in the United States Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga Soccer players from Gauteng 20th-century South African sportsmen