Lucas Radebe
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lucas Valeriu Ntuba Radebe | ||
| Date of birth | 12 April 1969 | ||
| Place of birth | Soweto, South Africa | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Diepkloof Wolf Wanderers | |||
| 1987–1988 | ICL Birds | ||
| 1989 | Kaizer Chiefs Juniors | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1994 | Kaizer Chiefs | 113 | (5) |
| 1994–2005 | Leeds United | 201 | (0) |
| Total | 314 | (5) | |
| National team | |||
| 1992–2003 | South Africa | 70 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Lucas Valeriu Ntuba Radebe OIS (born 12 April 1969) is a South African former footballer who played primarily as a centre-back.
He began playing in South Africa with Kaizer Chiefs, before transferring to Leeds United, where he played 200 matches for the Yorkshire side. During his spells at these clubs, he picked up the nicknames "Rhoo" and "The Chief". He became captain of Leeds United and also of the South African national team, most notably at World Cup 2002. Nelson Mandela said of Radebe: "This is my hero."
Radebe was born to Emily and Johannes Radebe in the Diepkloof section of Soweto, near Johannesburg, as the fourth of 11 children. He attended the local Bopasenatla Secondary School until he was 15 years old. His parents sent him to one of the former homelands in Grade 10, Bophuthatswana, as a way to keep him safe from the violent neighbourhood of Diepkloof Zone Four in Soweto. There he attended Ngotwane High School near Zeerust. There he joined the ICL Birds in the now-defunct Bophuthatswana Soccer League, and was spotted by Patrick Ntsoelengoe who recruited him to one of South Africa's top clubs, the Kaizer Chiefs, in 1989.
Radebe originally started his career with the Kaizer Chiefs as a goalkeeper, and then switched positions to central midfield and then finally to central defence.
In 1994, Radebe and another South African player, Philemon "Chippa" Masinga, moved to Leeds United for a transfer fee of £250,000. Radebe was only included in the deal to keep Masinga happy; as it turned out, he became the more valuable investment.
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