Lesley Phuti Manyathela (4 September 1981 – 9 August 2003) was a South African professional
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
player who played as a
striker for
Premier Soccer League
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
club
Orlando Pirates
Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...
and the
South African national team.
A prolific goalscorer, Manyathela scored 48 goals in 73 appearances for Orlando Pirates and was the league's top goalscorer in 2003. Later that year, he was involved in a car accident which resulted in his death, aged 21. Following his death, the PSL award for the top goalscorer was renamed the
Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot
The Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot is an annual association football award presented by the Premier Soccer League to the leading goalscorer in the South African Premier Division. The award, colloquially known as the PSL Golden Boot or simply the Go ...
in his honour and the national team temporarily retired the number 19 jersey which he had previously worn.
Club career
Having represented Chelamoya and
Dynamos at youth level, Manyathela joined
Orlando Pirates
Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...
with whom he made his senior debut in September 2000, at the age of 19.
During the
2001–02 PSL season, he ended the campaign as the league's second top goalscorer behind
Ishmael Maluleke.
The
following season, he claimed the
Golden Boot award, becoming the second and, to date, most recent Pirates player to win the award, and helped the club to its second league title in three seasons.
[ His domestic form caught the attention of a host of European clubs and at the end of the season he underwent trials with ]Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
side Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
and Greek side OFI Crete OFI may refer to:
* Overseas Filipino Investors, Filipino expatriates who contribute to the economy of the Philippines through remittances, buying property, and creating businesses
* OFI Crete, a Greek association football club based on the island ...
.[ On 9 August 2003, he scored a consolation goal in a 2–1 Supa 8 loss to ]Jomo Cosmos
Jomo Cosmos are a South African association football club based in Johannesburg that plays in the National First Division. The club is owned and coached by South African football legend Jomo Sono.
In the 2021-2022 National First Division sea ...
. The goal proved to be his last, though, as following the match, he died. He ultimately made 73 appearances for the club and scored 48 goals.
International
Manyathela represented South Africa at under-20 level, where he scored once in five appearances, and at under-23 level where he scored six goals in 13 appearances.[
He made his senior debut for ]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 ...
against Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
on 20 March 2002. Seven days later, he received his first and only red card when he was sent off in a 4–1 friendly loss to Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. His first goal came in a friendly against Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
in March 2003 which he followed up with a brace in a 3–1 win over Trinidad & Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of Gr ...
in June. After his death later that year, the South African Football Association
The South African Football Association (colloquially known as SAFA) is the national administrative governing body that controls the sport of football in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and is a member of the Confederation of African Football ...
temporarily retired the number 19 jersey which he had worn during his time with the national team.[ He had scored 3 goals in 9 international appearances by the time of his demise.
]
Death & legacy
On 9 August 2003, following a match against Jomo Cosmos, Manyathela was killed in an accident after his car overturned on the N1 highway near his hometown of Musina
Musina (; formerly Messina) is the northernmost town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. It is located near the confluence of the Limpopo River with the Sand River and the border to Zimbabwe. It has a population of between 20,000 and 40, ...
.[ It was reported that the airbags in the ]Volkswagen Golf Mk4
The Volkswagen Golf Mk4 (or VW ''Type 1J'') is a compact car, the fourth generation of the Volkswagen Golf and the successor to the Volkswagen Golf Mk3. Launched in October 1997 for the 1998 model year, it was the best selling car in Europe in ...
that he was driving did not deploy as a result of him not wearing his safety belt
A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduc ...
. He was driving with a friend at the time of the accident, who suffered only minor injuries, and was en route to visit his mother for Women's Day celebrations.[
His death was considered a national tragedy and drew comment from South African President ]Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...
who offered his condolences to the family, friends and teammates of Manyathela.[ He was laid to rest on 16 August 2003 with Orlando Pirates chairman ]Irvin Khoza
Irvin Khoza (born January 27, 1948) is a South African football administrator and businessman. Nicknamed "Iron Duke / Squveve", he is the Chairman of Orlando Pirates Football Club, Chairman of the South African Premier Soccer League and by virtue ...
and Mamelodi Sundowns owner Patrice Motsepe
Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe (born 28 January 1962) is a South African mining billionaire businessman. Since 12 March 2021, he has been serving as the President of the Confederation of African Football. He is the founder and executive chairman of ...
among those acting as pallbearer
A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person.
Some traditions distinguish between the roles of ...
s. His tombstone was unveiled the following month, on the day of South Africa's national Heritage Day.[
Ahead of the ]2003–04 Premier Soccer League
The 2003–04 Premier Soccer League was won by Kaizer Chiefs. Table
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Premier Soccer League 2003-04
2003-04
2003–04 in African association football leagues
2003–04 in South African soccer ...
season, the award for the top goalscorer in a season was renamed the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot
The Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot is an annual association football award presented by the Premier Soccer League to the leading goalscorer in the South African Premier Division. The award, colloquially known as the PSL Golden Boot or simply the Go ...
and the Musina
Musina (; formerly Messina) is the northernmost town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. It is located near the confluence of the Limpopo River with the Sand River and the border to Zimbabwe. It has a population of between 20,000 and 40, ...
municipality also named the local football stadium after him in his honour.[
]
Career statistics
International
International goals
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manyathela, Lesley
1981 births
2003 deaths
People from Musina Local Municipality
South African Venda people
South African soccer players
Association football forwards
Orlando Pirates F.C. players
Road incident deaths in South Africa
Dynamos F.C. (South Africa) players
Sportspeople from Limpopo
South Africa international soccer players