“What a great player. Shaka was unbelievable good,” reflects former Kaizer Chiefs captain Ryder Mofokeng about Abedigno ‘Shaka’ Ngcobo, who passed away on Saturday. “He was a very quiet person, but not on the field – there he was always buzzy and a nightmare for any opponent’s defender. He very skilful on the ball, he was fast and he could score with both feet.”

Shaka Ngcobo played for the Amakhosi between 1972 and 1984. He was a striker, but he also excelled on the wing. At some stage he was in Uruguay with Penarol. Upon his return to South Africa, his Chiefs team mates jokingly said to each other: “Valdez is coming back.” This surname, often used in Uruguay, accordingly became another nickname of Ngcobo: ‘Valdez.’

Mofokeng, who captained the Amakhosi from 1975 to 1986, vividly remembers one of the games in which Ngcobo was unstoppable. “In the replay of the 1981 Mainstay Cup final, Shaka was fantastic,” Mofokeng says. “We beat Orlando Pirates 3-1, with Ace Ntsoelengoe, Shaka Ngcobo and ‘Wagga Wagga’ Likoeba scoring our goals. He was really taking the Buccaneers defenders on. I will never forget that match.”

“What made Shaka also so special,” continues Mofokeng, “was that he excelled in everything he did - he could dribble past defenders, he could pass, he could cross and he could shoot. He was one of the best all-round strikers South Africa had.”

“We will miss him,” concludes Mofokeng. “It feels like yesterday that we sat together in the dressing before the game and we would sing all kinds of songs. Shaka was maybe a quiet guy, but when it came to singing he joined us with full force. What a remarkable person!”

Shaka Ngcobo was 63-years-old when he passed away on Saturday morning, 1 November 2014.