Reneilwe "Yeye" Letsholonyane (born 9 June 1982) is a South African retired 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

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 ...

. He represented the South Africa national team at international level.

Early life

Letsholonyane grew up kicking a

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

ball in White City, Jabavu in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

. His talent blossomed at

Morris Isaacson High School Morris Isaacson High School is a government secondary school in Soweto. Founded in 1956, the school took an important role at the start of the Soweto Uprising in 1976. History The school was named for Morris Isaacson who was a Lithuanian Jewis ...

where he started playing for

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 ...

. His parents did not believe that he could make a living from playing soccer because they knew it will be a short career, but they encouraged him anyway. His first pair of soccer boots were Puma SE Rangers that his parents bought for him.152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dailysun/2012/05/23/DT/2/ss%20Yeye%2023-DT-052.html

Club career

Letsholonyane mainly played in the lower leagues until joining

in 2006. Two years later he signed with

Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) are a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premier Soccer League. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Lords" or "Chie ...

under

Muhsin Ertugral Muhsin (also spelled Mohsen, Mohsin, Mehsin, or Muhsen, ar, محسن) is a masculine Arabic given name. The first person known to have the name "Muhsin" was Muhsin bin Ali, the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah bint Muhammad. Islamic term I ...

where he has since been an integral part of the line-up despite regularly battling injuries. Letsholonyane made his debut alongside Gordon Gilbert on 30 August 2008 in a 2–1 loss against

Thanda Royal Zulu Thanda Royal Zulu was a South African football club based in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. History The club started after a Swedish consortium that included Sven-Goran Eriksson bought the franchise from Benoni Premier United at the end of the 2006 ...

. He came close to scoring as he took a powerful shot outside the box but crashed onto the crossbar. Letsholonyane scored the winning penalty in the

2008 MTN 8 The 2008 MTN 8 kicked off on the weekend of 9 August with the first two quarterfinals being played on Saturday and Sunday, and the next round of quarterfinals were played on the weekend of the 16 and 17 August. The first leg of the semifinals too ...

final and Chiefs won 4–3 over

Mamelodi Sundowns Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premier Soccer League, the first tier of South African football l ...

. He got his first call-up after the final. He missed most of the 2011–12 season after picking up a knee injury on international duty, and only got featured in just 13 league matches for Chiefs. In the 2012–13 season during Chiefs' league and cup double triumph he played 26 league matches and scored three goals. Halfway through the 2013–14 season, Letsholonyane's career nearly ended against

Lamontville Golden Arrows Lamontville Golden Arrows F.C. are a South African soccer club based in Durban that plays in the Premier Soccer League. History It was founded in 1943 in the streets of Lamontville, a township in Durban. The club played in the defunct Natio ...

when his leg was hacked inwards, he came off and was replaced by

Josta Dladla Josta Dladla (born 13 July 1979) is a South African football (soccer) midfielder. He was capped 6 times for South Africa. Early life Dladla was born in Soweto and lived with his grandmother. His first pair of boots were the Puma Jomo Sono Kin ...

, Chiefs won 1–0. He only strained and damaged his

ligaments A ligament is the fibrous connective tissue that connects bones to other bones. It is also known as ''articular ligament'', ''articular larua'', ''fibrous ligament'', or ''true ligament''. Other ligaments in the body include the: * Peritoneal li ...

and was ruled out for the last game of the year against

AmaZulu Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal ...

on 22 December 2013. He scored in the

MTN 8 MTN 8 is the current branding for a South African soccer cup competition launched in 1972 for teams who finished in the top 8 positions of the league table of the country's preceding top-flight league (currently the DStv Premiership) season. T ...

quarter final against

Mpumalanga Black Aces Black Aces were a South African football club that played in the Premier Soccer League. Aces usually played their home games in the Mpumalanga province but were based and trained in Johannesburg. History The original club was founded in 1937 by ...

in the second minute in a 4–0 win and was voted Man of the Match. Letsholonyane scored his first league goal of 2014–15 in a 2–1 win over Mpumalanga Black Aces. He scored in the MTN8 second leg semi-final against

Platinum Stars Platinum Stars was a South African football club based in Phokeng near Rustenburg, North West Province that played in the Premier Soccer League. The club was nicknamed ''Dikwena'', the Tswana name for ''Crocodiles''. The team's best finish in ...

in the 57th minute to give Chiefs a 4–0 aggregate lead on 24 August 2014, he won his second Man of the Match of the tournament. Letsholonyane scored in a 2–0 win over Platinum Stars on 27 August 2014. He scored a brace against

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

on 13 September 2014 in a 2–1 win. He scored an equaliser in a 1–1 draw against

Moroka Swallows Moroka Swallows Football Club (often known as simply Swallows or The Birds) is a South African professional football club based in Soweto in the city of Johannesburg in the Gauteng province. Founded in 1947, Swallows are one of the original two ...

on 22 October 2014. On 1 July 2021, Letsholonyane announced his retirement from professional football.

International career

Letsholonyane played 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 ...

since 2008. He made his debut in September 2008 against

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

Germiston Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a small city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions as ...

. He scored the second goal in a 5–0 win over Guatemala on 31 May 2010. He played at 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 ...

and the

2013 African Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...

. He earned his 50th cap in a

2015 African Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was org ...

qualifier in a 2–1 win over

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Personal life

His younger brother Ruben is a soccer player. He lives in Fourways,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. “Life in the suburbs is somewhat lonely. Everyone minds his own business. You hardly ever see neighbours chatting over the fence. “I miss the feeling that exists in the townships of being a member of one big family. Asking for a loan of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

, washing powder or

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

from the neighbour when your own runs out,” he said. Letsholonyane's father, Andrew Ramogangwane Letsholonyane died on 16 February 2015 at the age of 59. He is divorced.

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Letsholonyane goal.''

Honours

Kaizer Chiefs *

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 ...

: 2012–13, 2014–15 *

: 2008, 2014 *

Telkom Knockout The Telkom Knockout was a South African professional football knockout competition which comprised the 16 teams in the South African Premier Soccer League. The competition was established in 1982 and was first known as the Datsun Challenge. Under ...

: 2009, 2010 *

Telkom Charity Cup The Telkom Charity Cup was a South African football (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 r ...

: 2010 *

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, premier club association football, soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of givi ...

: 2013 *

Carling Black Label Cup The Carling Black Label Cup is a one-day four-team football tournament in South Africa. Prior to 2022, the Carling Black Label Cup has been a one-day pre-season match between Soweto rivals, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. The teams to compete a ...

: 2013 SuperSport United *

: 2017 *

: 2016–17

External links

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Letsholonyane, Reneilwe 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Soweto South African soccer players Association football midfielders South Africa international soccer players Hellenic F.C. players Dangerous Darkies players Jomo Cosmos F.C. players Kaizer Chiefs F.C. players SuperSport United F.C. players Highlands Park F.C. players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players