Phil Masinga: South African footballer (1969-2019)

He was renowned as a strong who stood out for his leadership on the pitch, and he was known for his great dribbling, speed, and his incredible goalscoring ability and finishing, he is widely regarded as one of the best South African strikers of all time.

Phil Masinga

Personal information
Full name	Philemon Raul Masinga
Date of birth	(1969-06-28)28 June 1969
Place of birth	Klerksdorp, South Africa
Date of death	13 January 2019(2019-01-13) (aged 49)
Place of death	Johannesburg, South Africa
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1984–1990	Kaizer Chiefs
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–1991	Jomo Cosmos	88	(23)
1991–1994	Mamelodi Sundowns	108	(98)
1994–1996	Leeds United	31	(5)
1996–1997	St. Gallen	10	(0)
1997	Salernitana	16	(4)
1997–2001	Bari	75	(24)
2001–2002	Al-Wahda	15	(7)
Total		343	(161)
National team
1992–2001	South Africa	58	(18)
Teams managed
2006	PJ Stars
Honours Men's Football Representing  South Africa (as player) African Cup of Nations Runner-up 1996 South Africa Runner-up 1998 Burkina Faso
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He made his debut for Jomo Cosmos in 1990, before moving on to Mamelodi Sundowns.

In 1994 he left for English Premier League club Leeds United; the deal that his agent Marcelo Houseman did with Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson also involved Lucas Radebe moving to Leeds from Kaizer Chiefs. He played in the English Premier League for two years, playing 31 games and scoring five goals, and also scored a hat-trick in an FA Cup tie against Walsall on 17 January 1995.

Masinga moved to Switzerland with St. Gallen in 1996, followed by spells in Italy with Salernitana and Bari. In 2001, a return to English Football with Coventry City fell through after he failed to secure a work permit, following which he moved to Al Wahda FC in Abu Dhabi where he completed his playing career.

Masinga made his international debut in July 1992 against Cameroon; this was South Africa's first match following readmission of the country to international football.

In an African Cup of Nations qualifier versus Zambia in 1992, Masinga became the first South African ever to be sent off in an international match. He was in the Bafana Bafana side when South Africa won the African Cup of Nations in 1996 and when they finished second to Egypt in the 1998 African Cup of Nations. "Chippa", as he was affectionately known, scored the decisive goal in the 1997 game against the Republic of the Congo that took South Africa to the 1998 World Cup in France. He played 58 games for his country, scoring 18 goals.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 July 1992	FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	Cameroon	1–1	2–2	Friendly
2	24 October 1992		Congo	1–0	1–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	25 July 1993	Sir Aneroid Jugnauth Stadium, Belle Vue Maurel, Mauritius	Mauritius	3–0	3–0	1994 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4	24 April 1994	Mmabatho Stadium, Mmabatho, South Africa	Zimbabwe	1–0	1–0	Friendly
5	4 September 1994	Mahamasina Municipal Stadium, Antananarivo, Madagascar	Madagascar	1–0	1–0	1996 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
6	15 October 1994	Odi Stadium, Mabopane, South Africa	Mauritius	1–0	1–0
7	13 January 1996	FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	Cameroon	1–0	3–0	1996 Africa Cup of Nations
8	24 April 1996		Brazil	1–0	2–3	Friendly
9	9 November 1996		Zaire	1–0	1–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	27 April 1997	Stade Municipal, Lome, Togo		2–1	2–1
11	24 May 1997	Old Trafford, Manchester, England	England	1–1	1–2	Friendly
12	8 June 1997	FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	Zambia	2–0	3–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
13	16 August 1997		Congo	1–0	1–0
14	24 January 1998	Independence Stadium, Windhoek, South Africa	Namibia	2–1	2–3	1998 COSAFA Cup
15	23 January 1999	King George V Stadium, Curepipe, Mauritius	Mauritius	1–0	1–1	2000 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
16	27 February 1999	Odi Stadium, Mabopane,South Africa	Gabon	2–1	4–1
17	16 December 2000	FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	Liberia	2–0	2–1	2002 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
18	25 February 2001	Chichiri Stadium, Blantyre, Malawi	Malawi	1–0	2–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification

In 2006, Masinga briefly coached PJ Stars, a now-defunct third-division South African club.

Jomo Cosmos

• Nedbank Cup: 1990

Mamelodi Sundowns

• National Soccer League: 1993

Leeds United

• League Cup; Runner-up: 1996

South Africa

• Africa Cup of Nations winners: 1996
• Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 1998

On 13 January 2019, the president of the South African Football Association, Danny Jordaan, announced his death. Masinga had been admitted to hospital the previous month, due to cancer.

• Official website  
• Phil Masinga at Soccerbase  
• Klerksdorper.com The Number One Internet Site for Klerksdorp