Riyaad Norodien (born 26 March 1995) is a South African professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays 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 ...

for Kiyovu based club Kiyovu.

Early career

Born in Kensington, Cape Town, Norodien signed with local club

Ajax Cape Town Cape Town Spurs F.C. (formerly known as Ajax Cape Town) is a South African professional football club based in Parow in the city of Cape Town that plays in the National First Division. Dutch Eredivisie club AFC Ajax was their parent club and ma ...

as a youngster. He was named Academy Player of the Year in 2012. In May 2015, he travelled with the Ajax Cape Town U19 team to Germany to compete in the Ergenzingen Tournament, where they were eliminated by Mexican side

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

in the semi-finals. Norodien, however, was named Player of the Tournament, and caught the attention of various European clubs (including

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

Professional career

Club career

On 4 April 2015, after a lengthy contract dispute, Norodien finally made his first professional appearance when he featured during a 2–1 loss to

Platinum Stars Platinum Stars was a South African football club based in Phokeng near Rustenburg, North West Province that played in the Premier Soccer League. The club was nicknamed ''Dikwena'', the Tswana name for ''Crocodiles''. The team's best finish in ...

. One month later, he scored his first professional goal, a close-range header, against

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 followed it up by scoring against

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 ...

in the next game on 9 May (also the last game of the season). He received a pass from a goal-kick, juked two defenders and blasted the ball past Brighton Mhlongo for his second career goal. With his help, Ajax CP reached the finals of the

2014–15 Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is a South African club football (soccer) tournament. The knockout tournament, based on the English FA Cup format, was one of a weak opponent facing a stronger one. The competition was sponsored by ABSA until 2007, after which N ...

. After only a month in the league, he had "taken the domestic game by storm," impressing teams both in South Africa and abroad.

International career

Norodien was selected to represent

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 ...

at the

2015 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations The 2015 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations was the 2nd edition of the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, the quadrennial international age-restricted football championship organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the men's under-23 nationa ...

in Senegal, where the top three teams qualify for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. He played in three games (against

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

). South Africa finished in third place overall, qualifying for the Olympic tourney in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

;Ajax Cape Town *

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 ...

: Runner-up 2014–15 * MTN 8 Cup: 2015

References

External links

*
SoccerPunter profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norodien, Riyaad Living people 1995 births South African men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Cape Town Spurs F.C. players Orlando Pirates F.C. players Platinum Stars F.C. players Cape Town City F.C. (2016) players Cape Umoya United F.C. players National First Division players South African Premier Division players Soccer players from Cape Town 21st-century South African sportsmen