Bennett Masinga

Bennett Masinga
Personal information
Date of birth (1965-01-14)14 January 1965[1]
Place of birth Klerksdorp, South Africa
Date of death 14 November 2013(2013-11-14) (aged 48)
Place of death Stilfontein, South Africa
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1987 Klerksdorp City
1987–1996 Mamelodi Sundowns 476 (127)
1996–1999 Seven Stars
1999–2000 Santos Cape Town
2000–2003 →Hellenic FC (loan)
2002–2006 Bloemfontein Celtic
International career
1992–1993 South Africa 5 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bennett Masinga (13 January 1965 – 14 November 2013) was a South African footballer who played as a striker.

He was the cousin of former footballer Phil Masinga.[2]

Masinga died on 14 November 2013 at the age of 48.[3]

International career

He was on the score sheet with his cousin in one of Bafana Bafana's first international matches in a 2–2 draw against Cameroon on 11 July 1992. His fifth and last international match was against Mauritius on 10 April 1993.[4]

Style of play

MTN described Masinga as one of the best near post goalscorers in SA football, a tiny man, quick as lightning and able to sniff out a goal in any situation.[5]

Death

Masinga died at the age of 48 after a short illness. Condolences flooded in for the Masinga family. Former Mamelodi Sundowns teammate Zane Moosa took to Twitter to mourn with his tweet reading "Eish, what a sad way to start the weekend. The passing of Bennett "Loverboy" Masinga, what a player! Robala ka kgostso Bennito". Phil Masinga also said "I idolised him. Followed him around as a youngster. Carried his boots for him just to see him play. All I wanted was to be as good in football as he was. No doubt he was a better player than me."[5]

Career statistics

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 11 July 1992 FNB Stadium, South Africa  Cameroon 2-2 2-2 International friendly

See also

References

  1. ^ "Football : Bennett Masinga". Footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  2. ^ "LEGENDS CORNER: Phil Masinga still has one regret". The Sowetan. South Africa. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  3. ^ "RIP: Bennett Masinga". Kick Off Magazine. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  4. ^ Ex-Bafana striker Masinga dies | Sport24
  5. ^ a b RIP Bennett Masinga – MTNFootball Archived 18 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine