Your reading a pre 2010-11 archived article
A retrospective look at the full range of professional footballers that passed through Elland Road in the last 10 seasons (1999-2009).
The problem with this series is that for the vast majority of the time you are writing about a player who was either rubbish, didn’t stay very long or left under a cloud, something that can depress a little. However in the middle of all this you will eventually come across a player it is a privilege to retrospectively comment on, one such player, such as the true legend that is Lucas “The chief” Radebe.
Lucas Valeriu Radebe joined Leeds United in 1994 for the bargain sum of £250,000 from South African club Kaiser Chiefs and the same time we signed Philemon Masinga, with the assumption at the time that Masinga was the better player, how little we understood! It is useful to place these signings in context, 1994 is the year of the first democratic multi-racial elections in South Africa, and Apartheid was still in the short-term memory. Lucas himself had been a victim of the troubles of that country, being shot in Soweto, it was a brave and interesting move by Howard Wilkinson to sign the pair and perhaps one of those pivotal moments where you realise real life is more serious than football sometimes.
Radebe became a fantastic player for Leeds with an absolute determination in defense. Shown by his leadership and ability and this was recognised by George Graham who made Radebe captain of the team for the 1998/99 season. This was his reward for sticking at it despite a difficult first couple of seasons, in some respects it was that early period that helped mould Lucas into the player he became.
As captain of Leeds United, Radebe was part of a very successful period: in the 1998/1999 season, Leeds finished fourth in the FA Premier League qualifying for the UEFA Cup. During the 1999/2000 season, Leeds finished third in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League, reaching the semi-finals in April 2001. God it still hurts to type and remember at the same time. Radabe was pivotal in both the young fearless team that so dazzled the PL and the slightly less impressive team that included the expensive imports. Throughout all the ups and downs, including the controversial stuff, Radebe remained a solid, consistent symbol of decency and stability.
In 2000, Radebe sustained serious knee and ankle injuries, which cost him a lot of games over almost two years including all of 2001-02. By the time he fully recovered the club was already in a spiral of decline. Radebe battled on but couldn’t prevent the relegation that overcome us, maybe if we had 11 of him instead of the pile of over-paid, over-pampered idiocy we did have we might have survived! Lucas played alongside Rio Ferdinand, Michael Duberry and Jonathan Woodgate and was better than them all!
My over-riding memory of Lucas Radebe was from the caviler days, whenever the likes of Kewell, Smith Bowyer, Harte and Bridges were running riot around opposition defenses he stood tall doing all the right pointing, whispering and directing. His overall play was underestimated, although I often thought his occasional run out in midfield took something away from him. The official record says 200 league games but his contribution over those 10 seasons was worth 4 times that total.
After a couple of cameo appearances in our first season in the CCC Radabe retired from the game and back to South Africa where he is considered an important symbol of that country’s growing development. Personal tragedy has overtaken him with the death of his wife and his own health suffering but he is still ploughs the furrow on the 2010 World Cup to be held in the country he is so proud of.
Writing something like this on a player like Radebe is difficult, you can never fully express his place in our hearts and to some extent there is no need to, we all do it every game when we repeat his name over 4 years after he left us. True recognition indeed and the only fitting expression of our gratitude needed.
