Loyalty was more like the second name of the late Kaizer Chiefs captain Johannes ‘Ryder’ Mofokeng, who passed away on Saturday aged 70.
The long-serving Chiefs captain, who made 332 appearances for the club between 1975 and 1985, came to the team in 1971 and was still part of the Amakhosi set-up when he passed away.
And Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung has described Mofokeng’s death as a big blow to the club.
‘‘Words of comfort to the Mofokeng family. Phoka was a captain and a legend, an icon on his own right. He was a loyal servant of Kaizer Chiefs and was very passionate about the club,’’ Motaung said.
‘‘He served the club as a youth development coach. And he moved on as he was aging as we gave him administrative duties of the youth academy. He was also in the administrator of the MDC team.’’
Phoka as Mofokeng was called played a very important role at Chiefs and was part of the golden generation that brought glory to Amakhosi.
He played alongside the likes of Jan ‘Malombo’ Lechaba, the late Patrick ‘Ace’ Ntsoelengoe, Joseph ‘Banks’ Setlhodi and Nelson ‘Teenage’ Dladla just to name a few.
‘‘He was a loyal player. He passed on at the end of the 50th year celebration of the club. For me, the respect I had for Phoka was because of his loyalty and straight forwardness. He was a leader and developed a lot of youngsters,’’ Motaung said.
‘‘He’s leaving a big void. He was giving advice to the youth and the captain we have. He gave advice and legendary information to the youth. He played a big role in managing the youth players and he leaves a big legacy.’’
Chiefs players like Itumeleng Khune, Njabulo Blom and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo were developed by Mofokeng.
Meanwhile, the Premier Soccer League (PSL) announced on the weekend that a moment of silence would be observed for Mofokeng in all DStv Premiership, GladAfrica Championship and DStv Diski Challenge matches.
The moment of silence would be observed for Mofokeng and the people who lost their lives to the COVID-19 pandemic.
