Lebogang Ghiba Morula (sometimes spelt Lebohang) (born 22 December 1968 in

Brits, North West Brits () is a town situated in a fertile citrus, vegetable and grain-producing area that is irrigated by the waters of the Hartbeespoort Dam in North West Province of South Africa. It is close to the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality i ...

) is a retired

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

n football player.

Club career

Morula started his career at Jomo Cosmos in

and moved in 1995 to Colombian club

Once Caldas Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Palogrande stadium. They were the surprise winne ...

with fellow South African footballer Teboho Moloi in a "pay as you play" contract. He made his debut against

Deportes Quindío Deportes Quindío is a professional Colombian football club based in Armenia that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. The club was founded on 8 January 1951, and its best achievement was winning the 1956 league tournament. They play thei ...

becoming the first African player to appear in the Categoría Primera A. However, he disliked the contract based on appearances and left the club after playing only 20 minutes. In 1996, he was brought to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

by former South Africa manager Augusto Palacios to play for Aurich–Cañaña, ending the season relegated from the

1996 Torneo Descentralizado The 1996 Torneo Descentralizado was the 81st season of the top category of Peruvian football. A total of 16 teams competed in the tournament. Sporting Cristal won its 13th first division title, completing a string of 3 consecutive titles starting ...

. In 1997, Morula returned to Jomo Cosmos, scoring once in the Rothmans Cup 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-Nata ...

. He joined Turkish club Vanspor in December, playing 16

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

matches and scoring once against

Kocaelispor Kocaelispor is a Turkish football club based in İzmit. They were founded in 1966 and played in the top level between 1980–1988 and 1992–2003. Their best finish was in 1992–93 season, where they finished fourth. They have won the Turkish C ...

, but couldn't avoid ending at the bottom at the table and left the club after the end of the season. He returned to Jomo Cosmos as a player-assistant before ending his career in 2001.

International career

Morula acquired Peruvian citizenship by the time he played at Juan Aurich, but opted to play for the South Africa national football team. He appeared once in a friendly match against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and was a member of the squad that travelled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Personal life

His son Karol Josep Lebogang Bernal was born in Peru and is a right-back at

UCAM Murcia CF Universidad Católica de Murcia Club de Fútbol, commonly known as UCAM Murcia or simply UCAM, is a Spanish football club based in Murcia. Founded in 1999 it plays in Segunda Federación, holding home games at ''Estadio de La Condomina'', with ...

, having trained with the Peru national under-20 football team. Morula was arrested for many crimes such as hijacking, stealing cars generators and electronic goods, ATM robbery, and armed robbery. He was also convicted of malicious damage to property back in 1986 and theft in 2004. He also faced controversy in his second marriage in 2014 when his bride's mother and two of his sons attempted to stop the wedding stating he was still married to his legal wife, who was on her deathbed. It was also stated that his new wife had a boyfriend and that he struck Morula with a

buttstock A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attache ...

later in the same night.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morula, Lebogang 1968 births Living people South African soccer players 1998 FIFA World Cup players Vanspor footballers Juan Aurich footballers Expatriate footballers in Peru Association football forwards Association football midfielders Jomo Cosmos F.C. players Once Caldas footballers Expatriate footballers in Colombia South African expatriate soccer players South Africa international soccer players South African expatriate sportspeople in Colombia South African expatriate sportspeople in Peru