Lawrence Chelin (24 August 1958 – 23 June 2020) was a South African professional

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 ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Career

Chelin played for Arcadia Shepherds‚ Durban United and

Durban City Durban City was a South African association football club based in the city of Durban. Formed in 1959 by Norman Elliott, the club was dissolved in 1988. History Durban City FC played in the newly formed whites only National Football League f ...

, as well as for American team the Atlanta Chiefs in 1981. With Durban City he won the National Soccer League in 1985 and 1986. He also played for the multiracial South Africa Invitational XI in 1976, and for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

in 1977. He died on 23 June 2020 from leukemia.

Style of play

Former South Africa captain

Neil Tovey Neil Robert Tovey OIS (born 2 July 1962) is a South African football coach and former player and also brother of former footballer Mark Tovey. He was born in Pretoria. He holds the record for most appearances in the National Soccer League. Ear ...

described Chelin as similar to

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid. Known for his creativity, dribbling, passing and vision, Hazard is considered o ...

, being "skilful icand unbelievably quick, especially over the first five metres".

References

1958 births 2020 deaths South African men's soccer players South Africa men's international soccer players Arcadia Shepherds F.C. players Durban United F.C. players Durban City F.C. players Atlanta Chiefs players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Men's association football midfielders South African expatriate men's soccer players South African expatriates in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States {{SouthAfrica-footy-midfielder-stub