Jacob Lekgetho
Jacob Bobo Lekgetho (24 March 1974 – 9 September 2008) was a South African footballer who played as a left back during the 1990s and 2000s
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Jacob Bobo Lekgetho | ||
Date of birth | 24 March 1974 | ||
Place of birth | Soweto, South Africa | ||
Date of death | 9 September 2008 34) | (aged||
Place of death | Johannesburg, South Africa | ||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
Playing position(s) | Left back | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1995–2001 | Moroka Swallows | 144 | (10) |
2001–2005 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 76 | (3) |
National team | |||
2000–2004 | South Africa | 25 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
Career
Lekgetho was born in the Moletsane area of Soweto and began playing professionally with Moroka Swallows FC in 1995. He went on to make 155 appearances for the club before leaving for Russia's FC Lokomotiv Moscow in 2001. He helped the club win the league title in 2002, but returned to South Africa in 2004 following the death of his wife.[1]
He was capped 25 times for the South African national team, making his international debut in a 1-0 win over Malta in May 2000 and playing his last match for Bafana Bafana in a 3-0 World Cup Qualifying defeat to Ghana in Kumasi on 20 June 2004. He was a member of the squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan where he came on as a substitute in the 3-2 defeat to Spain.
Honors
- Russian Premier League : 2002, 2004
- Russian Super Cup : 2003
- Russian Cup (football) : 2001
Death
Hoax
On 19 February 2007, Russian web-based news source Rusfootball and Russian edition of the UEFA website reported that Lekgetho had been killed in a car accident in Cape Town.[2][3] Other media such as gazeta.ru,[4] Sport-Express,[5] and Regnum[6] picked up the story. On 20 February, Rusfootball published the refutation, confirming that the information was false.[2]
Actual death
In September 2008, it was confirmed by various South African sources that Lekgetho had died in Johannesburg, aged 34, after a lengthy battle with an undisclosed illness.[7][8][9] According to Sport-Express the illness was AIDS.[10]
References
- "Jacob Lekgetho". BBC. 22 May 2002. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
- "Rusfootball apologizes for the erroneous information on Lekgetho's death". 20 February 2007. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
- "Jacob Lekgetho dies" (in Russian). UEFA. 19 February 2007. Archived from the original on 2 March 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
- "Jacob Lekgetho dies" (in Russian). gazeta.ru. 19 February 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
- "Jacob Lekgetho killed in car accident" (in Russian). Sport-Express. 19 February 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
- "Former Lokomotiv player Jacob Lekgetho killed in road accident" (in Russian). Regnum. 19 February 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
- http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=19&art_id=nw20080909192905706C443975&set_id= Former Bafana player dies
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Former Bafana star passes away
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 September 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Jacob Lekgetho dies
- http://news.sport-express.ru/online/ntext/25/nl258556.html (In Russian) He became one of Russia's own