Sydney Convinus Plaatjies (born 25 November 1981) is a

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

n former

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 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 played club football for Refugees FC, Blue Waters,

Jomo Cosmos Jomo Cosmos is a South African soccer club based in Johannesburg that plays in the ABC Motsepe League. The club is owned and coached by South African football legend Jomo Sono. At the end of the 2021–22 National First Division season, the ...

Mamelodi Sundowns Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premiership, the first tier of South African football league syste ...

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 ...

, Kabuscorp,

Mpumalanga Black Aces Black Aces was a South African football club that played in the Premier Soccer League. Aces usually played their home games in the Mpumalanga province but were based and trained in Johannesburg. History The original club was founded in 1937 by ...

, Đồng Tháp and Blue Boys and international football for the

Namibia national football team The Namibia national football team represents Namibia in men's international football and is controlled by the Namibia Football Association. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup but have made four appearances in the Africa Cup of ...

, where he was part of the Namibia squad for the

2008 Africa Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confede ...

Club career

Born in Mariental, Plaatjies started his career at Namibian lower league side Refugees FC before later joining Blue Waters. In March 2006, Plaatjies signed for

South African Premier Division The South African Premiership, also known as the Betway Premiership for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the PSL after its governing body, is a professional soccer league in South Africa and the highest level of the South Afric ...

side

on a two-year contract. Over two years at the club, he scored twice in 28 appearances before leaving the club in the summer of 2008 to join fellow South African Premier Division side

. He made 4 appearances for Sundowns before, in January 2009, he joined

on loan until the end of the season, with the option to sign him permanently. He made 7 appearances for the club, though his loan spell was not made permanent. He was released by the club in November 2009. Following his release, he had a trial period with

, before a short spell with Angolan side Kabuscorp. Plaatjies signed for South African Premier Division side

on a short-term deal in December 2010. However, Plaatjies made just 5 league appearances for the club before being released by the club later that season. He subsequently joined Vietnamese side Đồng Tháp where he made 13 appearances, before returning to Namibia in 2013 to play for Blue Boys.

International career

Having previously played for Namibia at under-19 and under-20 levels, Plaatjies made his debut for

in 2001 against

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 ...

. He was part of the Namibia squads at the

2005 COSAFA Cup This page provides summaries to the 2005 COSAFA Cup. Format In the first round, twelve teams were divided into three groups of four teams each. Each group played a knockout tournament. The winners of each group joined Angola (holders) into the fi ...

, the

2006 COSAFA Cup This page provides summaries to the 2006 COSAFA Cup. Format In the first round, 12 teams were divided into 3 groups of 4 teams each. Each group played a knockout tournament. The winners of each group joined Zimbabwe (holders) into the final roun ...

, the

and the

2009 COSAFA Cup The 2009 COSAFA Cup is the 13th edition of the football tournament that involves teams from Southern Africa. South Africa had originally expressed an interest in hosting the 2009 and 2010 events but later reneged and Zimbabwe was given the task ...

. He amassed a total of 24 caps for Namibia, scoring twice.

Style of play

Plaatjies was left footed and played as a winger.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plaatjies, Sydney 1981 births Living people Namibian men's footballers Namibia men's international footballers Sportspeople from Hardap Region Men's association football wingers Blue Waters F.C. players Jomo Cosmos F.C. players Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. players Moroka Swallows F.C. players Kabuscorp S.C.P. players Mpumalanga Black Aces F.C. players Dong Thap FC players South African Premier Division players V.League 1 players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players Namibian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa Expatriate men's footballers in Angola Expatriate men's footballers in Vietnam Namibian expatriate sportspeople in South Africa Namibian expatriate sportspeople in Angola Namibian expatriate sportspeople in Vietnam 21st-century Namibian sportsmen