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T R A I L B L A Z E R

FREEDOM TO

REACH FOR THE

STARS

S

iyabonga Nomvethe, affectionately known as
Bhele to football fans, was born on 2 December
1977 in waMashu. Today, the famous goal
poacher is retired. He last played professionally
for AmaZulu FC. omvethe began his career in
1994 as a striker for the Durban-based Durban
Cosmos. He later moved to Claremont Blizzards.
When Claremont Blizzards folded the following
year, Nomvethe moved to African Wanderers in
the second best South African league. He helped
the club secure promotion and Nomvethe made
his first appearances in the Premier Soccer
League in 1997. In his debut season, he scored a
brace against Chiefs.

In July 1998, he joined Kaizer Chiefs and made his
debut on 8 August 1998 and scored in a 2–1 loss
to Bloemfontein Celtic. He scored 42 goals in 79
games for Chiefs. In the same season, he missed
out soccer action for a few months following an
injury. On his return later in the season, he scored
a total of eight goals.

Replacing Pollen Ndlanya who left the team,
Nomvethe scored 22 goals in all competitions,
including three goals in the BobSave Super Bowl
to help Chiefs win their first silverware of the new
millennium.

Nomvethe scored 11 goals on either half of the
season and scored Chiefs first goal of the
millennium on 8 January 2000 against his old
team African Wanderers. He scored 18 goals in all
competitions the next season, scoring his tenth
against Ria Stars on 21 January 2001. He scored
his last goal on 24 April 2001 in a 5–0 win rubbing
of Bloemfontein Celtic in a BobSave Super Bowl
quarterfinal; that goal was his 58th for Chiefs.

S i y a b o n g a N o m v e t h e , o n e o f t h e m o s t
f a m o u s g o a l p o a c h e r s i n t h e c o u n t r y , l a s t
p l a y e d f o r A m a Z u l u F C .
07 | Trailblazer