Keryn David Jordan (1 November 1975 – 21 October 2013) was a South African

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who primarily played as a striker during a fifteen-year career.

Club career

Early career

He started his career in his native

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

at Pretoria City, before transferring to

Manning Rangers Manning Rangers is a now defunct South African Association Football, football club based in Durban. The side is best remembered as the Champions of the Inaugural season of South Africa's Premier Soccer League. History The club was founded in 192 ...

where he won the golden boot during the 1997–98 Premier Soccer League season with 11 goals. In the 2003/2004 season, he also led with 8 goals.

Waitakere United

Jordan then moved to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, intending to play for the

New Zealand Knights New Zealand Knights Football Club (formed from the Football Kingz Football Club in 2004) were the only professional association football club in New Zealand before they became defunct. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, they played in the A-League ...

in the newly formed

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n and

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

. He was unsuccessful in this and signed with new

New Zealand Football Championship The New Zealand Football Championship ( mi, Te Whakataetae Whutupaoro a Aotearoa) was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a m ...

team

Waitakere United Waitakere United was a football club based in Waitakere City, New Zealand. They were one of the franchises in the ISPS Handa Premiership. They played their home games at Fred Taylor Park in Kumeu and The Trusts Arena. History Waitakere United ...

instead. In his first season with the club (2004/2005), he scored 15 goals in the 21 rounds, and earned the Golden Boot.

International career

Jordan earned one cap for

at senior international level, in 1999.

Illness and death

In 2008, after an unexplained three months on the sideline, Jordan announced that he had been suffering from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

for three years. He had initially been worried that it would interfere with his application for permanent residency and New Zealand citizenship, but was treated and given the all-clear by doctors, and made his comeback in a 4–1 win against

Canterbury United Canterbury United Dragons are a semi-professional football club from Christchurch, New Zealand. The team plays most of its matches at English Park in Christchurch, though they occasionally play in Nelson. The club last played in the ISPS Handa P ...

. On 19 March 2010, Jordan announced his retirement from all levels of domestic and international football, citing ongoing knee injuries. Jordan had not played a full game since the 2009 Club World Cup, and he felt it the right time to retire, after what he conceded was an ultimately successful career. Jordan died of cancer on 21 October 2013, aged 37, in his hometown of

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

. The cancer had started as a

melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

spot thirteen years earlier, and eventually spread to his brain.Football: Keryn Jordan loses battle with cancer
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References

External links

Auckland City FC profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Keryn 1975 births 2013 deaths Deaths from cancer in South Africa South African soccer players New Zealand association footballers South Africa international soccer players Expatriate association footballers in New Zealand White South African people South African people of British descent SuperSport United F.C. players Moroka Swallows F.C. players Waitakere United players Auckland City FC players Manning Rangers F.C. players Soccer players from Pretoria Association football forwards New Zealand Football Championship players