Reneilwe "Yeye" Letsholonyane (born 9 June 1982) is a South African retired professional

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 played as 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 represented the South Africa national team at international level.

Early life

Letsholonyane grew up kicking a rugby ball in White City, Jabavu in

Soweto Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western T ...

. His talent blossomed at Morris Isaacson High School where he started playing for Jomo Cosmos. His parents did not believe that he could make a living from playing soccer because they knew it will be a short career, but they encouraged him anyway. His first pair of soccer boots were Puma SE Rangers that his parents bought for him.152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dailysun/2012/05/23/DT/2/ss%20Yeye%2023-DT-052.html

Club career

Letsholonyane mainly played in the lower leagues until joining Jomo Cosmos in 2006. Two years later he signed with Kaizer Chiefs under Muhsin Ertugral where he has since been an integral part of the line-up despite regularly battling injuries. Letsholonyane made his debut alongside Gordon Gilbert on 30 August 2008 in a 2–1 loss against Thanda Royal Zulu. He came close to scoring as he took a powerful shot outside the box but crashed onto the crossbar. Letsholonyane scored the winning penalty in the 2008 MTN 8 final and Chiefs won 4–3 over Mamelodi Sundowns. He got his first call-up after the final. He missed most of the 2011–12 season after picking up a knee injury on international duty, and only got featured in just 13 league matches for Chiefs. In the 2012–13 season during Chiefs' league and cup double triumph he played 26 league matches and scored three goals. Halfway through the 2013–14 season, Letsholonyane's career nearly ended against Lamontville Golden Arrows when his leg was hacked inwards, he came off and was replaced by Josta Dladla, Chiefs won 1–0. He only strained and damaged his ligaments and was ruled out for the last game of the year against AmaZulu on 22 December 2013. He scored in the MTN 8 quarter final against Mpumalanga Black Aces in the second minute in a 4–0 win and was voted Man of the Match. Letsholonyane scored his first league goal of 2014–15 in a 2–1 win over Mpumalanga Black Aces. He scored in the MTN8 second leg semi-final against Platinum Stars in the 57th minute to give Chiefs a 4–0 aggregate lead on 24 August 2014, he won his second Man of the Match of the tournament. Letsholonyane scored in a 2–0 win over Platinum Stars on 27 August 2014. He scored a brace against

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

on 13 September 2014 in a 2–1 win. He scored an equaliser in a 1–1 draw against Moroka Swallows on 22 October 2014. On 1 July 2021, Letsholonyane announced his retirement from professional football.

International career

Letsholonyane played for

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 ...

since 2008. He made his debut in September 2008 against

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

in Germiston. He scored the second goal in a 5–0 win over Guatemala on 31 May 2010. He played at the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

and the 2013 African Cup of Nations. He earned his 50th cap in a 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifier in a 2–1 win over

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

Personal life

His younger brother Ruben is a soccer player. He lives in Fourways,

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 ...

. “Life in the suburbs is somewhat lonely. Everyone minds his own business. You hardly ever see neighbours chatting over the fence. “I miss the feeling that exists in the townships of being a member of one big family. Asking for a loan of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

, washing powder or

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

from the neighbour when your own runs out,” he said. Letsholonyane's father, Andrew Ramogangwane Letsholonyane died on 16 February 2015 at the age of 59. He is divorced.

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Letsholonyane goal.''

Honours

Kaizer Chiefs * Premier Soccer League: 2012–13, 2014–15 * MTN 8: 2008, 2014 * Telkom Knockout: 2009, 2010 * Telkom Charity Cup: 2010 *

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, premier club association football, soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of gi ...

: 2013 * Carling Black Label Cup: 2013 SuperSport United * MTN 8: 2017 *

: 2016–17

External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Letsholonyane, Reneilwe 1982 births Living people Soccer players from Soweto South African men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders South Africa men's international soccer players Hellenic F.C. players Dangerous Darkies F.C. players Jomo Cosmos F.C. players Kaizer Chiefs F.C. players SuperSport United F.C. players Highlands Park F.C. players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players 21st-century South African sportsmen