Moran Khulu, better known as Samora Khulu, (died 6 August 2008) was a South African

football (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 ...

striker who played for

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 ...

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 ...

and

AmaZulu Zulu people (; ) are a native people of Southern Africa of the Nguni people, Nguni. The Zulu people are the largest Ethnic groups in South Africa, ethnic group and nation in South Africa, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. They o ...

Club career

Joe Frickleton Joe Frickleton (c. 1935 – 14 December 2020) was a Scottish professional football player and manager, active primarily in South Africa Playing career Frickleton, who played as a wing half, played youth with Clydebank Juniors, before turning pr ...

discovered Khulu when he still played for

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 ...

. "I immediately spotted his potential while I was still coaching Highlands Park - and the great measure of success Chiefs achieved in the record breaking season was due to him." Khulu scored a hat trick in his first match against

Wits University The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The university has its roots in ...

Orlando Stadium Orlando Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Soweto, a township in Johannesburg, in Gauteng province in South Africa. It is the home venue for Orlando Pirates Football Club, a professional soccer team that plays in the Premier Soccer League a ...

. He developed a penchant of scoring at

Ellis Park Stadium Ellis Park Stadium (known as Emirates Airline Park for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union and association football stadium in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It hosted the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was won by th ...

. Chiefs signed Khulu for a hefty R25 000 at the start of the 1984 season. He finished the season as the 1984 Footballer of the Year and the winner of the Golden Boot with 21 goals. He was the first ever South African soccer player to have a graphic every time he scored at Ellis Park. He later joined

AmaZulu F.C. AmaZulu Football Club is a South African professional soccer club based in the city of Durban in the KwaZulu Natal province, that plays in the South African Premiership, Premiership, the first tier of the South African football league system. ...

He scored a goal against

in 1–0 win in the JPS Knockout Cup but they were disqualified for fielding an unregistered player.

Controversies

Khulu had a reputation for indiscipline and going AWOL often skipping training to return to his home in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

Nickname

He was nicknamed "Zulu Boy" or "ZB" by

and Ryder Mofokeng

Personal life

Khulu is survived by his wife Monica and two children.

Death

Khulu died on 6 August 2008 after a long illness, his daughter Tracey Khulu confirmed his death on

Metro FM Metro FM is a national commercial radio station in South Africa owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The station broadcasts on FM Stereo as well as the DStv Bouquet Channel 801. Telephone : History The station started broad ...

. He was buried on 10 August 2008 at Gavala Cemetery in Madadeni,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

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 ...

said "We are deeply grieved by his passing and we shall forever be thankful for his contributions to our success."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khulu, Samora 2008 deaths Men's association football forwards Kaizer Chiefs F.C. players South African men's soccer players Soccer players from KwaZulu-Natal 1958 births 20th-century South African sportsmen