Moeneeb Josephs (''pronounced Muh'Neeb''; born 19 May 1980) is a retired 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 le ...
who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
.
Club career
Josephs began his career with
Cape Town Spurs
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.
History
Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. The ...
at the age of 17 in 1997 and played for its successor
Ajax Cape Town
Cape Town Spurs F.C. (formerly known as Ajax Cape Town) is a South African professional football club based in Parow in the city of Cape Town that plays in the National First Division. Dutch Eredivisie club AFC Ajax was their parent club and m ...
for seven years. In 2006, he moved to Gauteng where he played for
Bidvest Wits
Bidvest Wits Football Club,
(simply often known as Wits University F.C. or Wits) was a South African professional football club from Johannesburg which played in the Premier Soccer League the first-tier of South African league football system. ...
for two years before moving to
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 ...
for a record-breaking fee.
International career
Josephs has played at international level for South Africa national team and was South Africa's number one goalkeeper at the
2008 African Cup of Nations
The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated to the Confede ...
replacing the injured
Rowen Fernandez
Rowen is a village on the western slopes of the Conwy valley in the parish of Caerhun and the former County of Caernarfonshire in Wales. It lies off the B5106 road, between Tal y Bont and the Groes Inn. ''Buildings of Gwynedd'' 2009 refer ...
.
He did not make the final squad for the
2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Joh ...
, but earned selection to the squad for the
2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
at Fernandez's expense. He was not expected to see much playing time as back-up to
Itumeleng Khune
Itumeleng Issac Khune (born 20 June 1987) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as goalkeeper for Kaizer Chiefs in the Premier Soccer League, and also the South African national team.
He is the captain of both. Khune shot ...
, but on 16 June 2010 he was called on as a 79th-minute substitute for
Steven Pienaar
Steven Jerome Pienaar (; born 17 March 1982) is a South African former professional footballer and current assistant coach of the U18 team of the Ajax Youth Academy.
He was a captain of the South African national team. He primarily played as ...
following Khune's sending-off against
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. Josephs was powerless to stop the resultant penalty from
Diego Forlán
Diego Martín Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation, Forlán is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi T ...
as Bafana Bafana lost the match 3–0 with two goals from Forlan and a stoppage-time strike from
Álvaro Pereira
Álvaro Daniel Pereira Barragán (; born 28 November 1985) is a Uruguayan former footballer.
After starting out at Miramar Misiones he went on to play for a host of clubs in several countries, mainly Porto and Inter Milan, winning eight major ...
. Khune's suspension meant that Josephs played in South Africa's final group game against France, where they won 2–1 but were eliminated from the World Cup.
On 24 May 2012, he announced his retirement from international football.
He was called back after two years by
Gordon Igesund
Gordon Igesund (born 22 July 1956) is a former South African football player and coach who was most recently the manager of Highlands Park in the Premier Soccer League.
Early life
Igesund was born in Durban to George Norman Igesund (born 193 ...
for CHAN 2014 hosted in South Africa and he played a full match in final group stage against
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
in 3–1 defeat in a place of injured Itumeleng Khune. That was his final game for Bafana and he was personally criticized together with
Lerato Chabangu
Mpho Lerato Chabangu (born 15 August 1985) is a South African soccer player who plays as a right winger for Baberwa. He has previously played for the South Africa national football team.Minister of Sport and Recreation
Fikile Mbalula
Fikile April Mbalula (born 1 April 1971 in the Free State) is a South African politician who is currently serving in the cabinet as Minister of Transport. He previously served as both Minister and Deputy Minister of Police and Minister of Sport ...
, when he said "Bafana Bafana are week, useless and they are the bunch of losers individual"."
Personal life
Josephs hails from
Mitchell's Plain
Mitchells Plain is a large township located within the City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa and situated about from the Cape Town city centre. It is one of South Africa's largest residential areas and contains multiple smaller suburbs ...
on the
Cape Flats
The Cape Flats ( af, Die Kaapse Vlakte) is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. The Cape Flats is also the name of an administrative region of the City of Cape Town, which lie ...