Tokelo Anthony Rantie (born 8 September 1990) is a former South African 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 striker for the South Africa national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Parys Parys (pronounced ) is a resort town in northern Free State province, South Africa. It is situated on the southern bank of the Vaal River. The name is the Afrikaans translation of Paris. The origin of the name 'Parys' is attributed to German su ...

, Free State, Rantie started his career in different academies, most notably the Stars of Africa Academy in his native South Africa. Gabestar was his mentor. He proceeded to move to Ferroviário de Beira in 2010 and later

CD Maxaquene Clube de Desportos do Maxaquene, usually known simply as Maxaquene, is a sports club based in Maputo, Mozambique. The club is nicknamed ''Maxaca''. Currently, besides football (soccer) there are two indoor sports, namely, basketball ( CD Maxaque ...

in neighbouring Mozambique. In 2011, he moved to Swedish Division 2 side

IFK Hässleholm IFK Hässleholm is a Swedish football club from Hässleholm that was established in 1905. The team is currently playing in Division 2 Östra Götaland. Several well known players have played at the club including England international strik ...

on a loan deal from Stars of Africa Academy as part of their co-operation to bring South African players to Sweden.

Orlando Pirates

As Rantie had scored 10 goals in 12 games after half of the season he was loaned out to

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

Premier Soccer League The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the administrative body for professional soccer leagues and cups in South Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, and was founded in 1996 following an agreement between the National Soccer League and the remnant ...

for the 2011–2012 season. He scored 7 chips in 20 games for the pirates. The club tried to convince Stars of Africa Academy to complete a full

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...

but failed after the club's demands had been too high.

Malmö FF

On 9 August 2012,

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

club Malmö FF confirmed via their Twitter account that Rantie was joining the club. The transfer was a 17-month loan deal scheduled to end on 1 January 2014 with an option for Malmö to buy Rantie at a set price, the price was not disclosed. Rantie made his debut for the club on 16 August 2012 when he played 45 minutes in a friendly against Italian side

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

. Rantie proceeded to score a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in his competitive debut for the club on 20 August 2012 when Malmö FF played

Sandvikens IF Sandvikens IF is a Swedish football club located in Sandviken. The club, formed 6 June 1918, has played 21 seasons in the highest Swedish league, but is in the second highest Swedish league, Superettan. Sandvikens IF are affiliated to the Gest ...

away from home in the second round of

Svenska Cupen Svenska cupen (, ), also known as the Swedish Cup in English, is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. ''Svenska cupen'' usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also ...

, Malmö won the match 6–3 after extra time. On 27 August 2012 Rantie made his first league appearance for Malmö FF when he came into the game from the bench in the 62nd minute against

GIF Sundsvall Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall, more commonly known as GIF Sundsvall (), Giffarna or simply Sundsvall, is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Sundsvall. The club is affiliated with Medelpads Fotbollf� ...

. Rantie later scored his first league goal for the club in the 89th minute, affirming the result 2–0 for his new club. Overall Rantie played 11 league matches and scored three league goals for Malmö FF during the 2012 season. Rantie started the 2013 season with a knee injury which meant that he was out for the majority of the pre-season. He managed to score a spectacular goal in the first league match, a home fixture against

Halmstads BK Halmstads Bollklubb, also known simply as Halmstad () or (especially locally) HBK or Bollklubben, is a Swedish professional Association football, football club located in Halmstad in the county of Halland. The club, formed 7 February 1914 and app ...

, when he managed to dribble past several defenders before scoring the first goal of the game and his first of the season via the crossbar. On 23 April 2013 Rantie signed a four-year contract until the end of the 2016 season to make him a permanent Malmö FF player. In total Rantie played 21 matches and scored seven goals for the club during the league title winning season. He was given permission by Bournemouth to return to the club for a couple of days in November 2013 to celebrate the title with the players and fans of Malmö FF.

AFC Bournemouth

Malmö FF confirmed on 28 August 2013 that they had sold Rantie to English club

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

. The transfer fee was undisclosed but was reported to be a Bournemouth club record fee of £2.5 million. Rantie made his début on 17 September, replacing Scottish winger

Ryan Fraser Ryan Fraser (born 24 February 1994) is a Scottish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), left winger for club Southampton F.C., Southampton and the Scotland national football team, Scotland n ...

in a 1–0 win against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

at the Goldsands Stadium. He made his first start for the club four days later in a 3–3 draw against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, lining up alongside strike partner

Lewis Grabban Lewis James Grabban (born 12 January 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Since retiring from football Lewis has returned to Nottingham Forest as an academy coach. He was called up to the Jamaica squad in ...

before being replaced by

Wes Thomas Wesley Alexander Nevada Thomas (born 23 January 1987) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He began his career in non-league football with various clubs in ...

after 60 minutes. His first goal for the club came on 9 November, as he opened the scoring in a 1–1 draw against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...

, before

Danny Ings Daniel William John Ings (born 23 July 1992) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United. He will become a free agent on 1 Ju ...

scored late on to level the match. His second goal for the club came in January 2014, scoring the winning goal as Bournemouth beat

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

2–1. Rantie struggled to break into the starting eleven with Bournemouth top scorer Lewis Grabban and January signing

Yann Kermorgant Yann Alain Kermorgant (born 8 November 1981) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Early career Born in Vannes, Morbihan, Kermorgant began his career with the Stade Rennais Youth Academy, but aged 14 ...

from

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

being preferred by manager

Eddie Howe Edward John Frank Howe (born 29 November 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Premier League club Newcastle United. A centre-back during his playing career, Howe spent most of his playing ...

. However, despite this, with the departure of Grabban to Norwich this summer for an estimated sum of £3,000,000 after his release clause from the new contract he signed just 6 months earlier was triggered, and a strong performance in the last game of the season in a 1–0 defeat away to

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

by the South African.

Gençlerbirliği

On 26 August 2016, Bournemouth announced on their official website that Rantie had signed a permanent deal with Turkish side Gençlerbirliği for an undisclosed fee.

Mamelodi Sundowns

On 10 September 2019 he signed a 3-year contract with

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 ...

. Rantie's contract with Sundowns was terminated on 5 January 2020.

International career

Rantie made his senior national team debut for the

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

on 15 June 2012 in a friendly game against

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

, scoring his first goal for ''Bafana Bafana'' in the process. In 2013 Rantie was picked for his first tournament with South Africa when he was selected as part of the 23 men squad for the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange S.A., Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the Association football, footbal ...

held in South Africa.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Updated 3 September 2017.''

International goals

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

Honours

;Orlando Pirates *

: 2011–12 *

Telkom Knockout The Carling Knockout Cup is a South African professional soccer knockout competition which comprises the 16 teams in the South African Premiership. The Carling Knockout Cup is the third of the three main cups administered by the PSL along with ...

: 2011–12 ;Malmö FF *

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

;Bournemouth *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

: 2014–15

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rantie, Tokelo 1990 births Living people Soccer players from the Free State (province) South African expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Mozambique Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in England Men's association football forwards Orlando Pirates F.C. players Malmö FF players AFC Bournemouth players Allsvenskan players Division 3 (Swedish football) players English Football League players South African men's soccer players South Africa men's international soccer players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players South African expatriate sportspeople in England South African expatriate sportspeople in Mozambique South African expatriate sportspeople in Sweden 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players Clube Ferroviário da Beira (football) players Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers Süper Lig players Premier League players IFK Hässleholm players Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. players Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila F.C. players 21st-century South African sportsmen