PSL GOAT revealed, Kaizer Chiefs and Pirates fans won't argue

The South African

22-05-2025

Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates have produced some superb PSL footballers. However, the greatest the land has ever seen is a Sundowns icon.
Hlompho Kekana was a combative and explosive character on the pitch, but off it, he's as humble as they come. Regarded by his teammates as a model professional and example, he took care of his body and was fit as a fiddle even at the ripe age of 36. His devotion to a healthy diet didn't do him any harm either.
The retired midfield general remains popular with journalists, too, having always made himself available for calls and interviews. In the aftermath of Sundowns' tenth ABSA Premiership title win, a triumph that completed a fabled 'La Decima', Kekana was effusive when praising his teammates. Those men fought alongside him to snatch the title on the very final day. Kekana was truly a team-oriented man.
Kekana let his football do the talking at Sundowns, collecting a treasure trove of silverware after making the switch from Bloem Celtic in 2011. 8 x Betway Premiership titles
1 x CAF Champions League title
1 x CAF Super Cup
2 x Telkom Knockout titles Hlompho Kekana admits he knew he had 'overstayed his welcome' at Mamelodi Sundowns when his game time became limited. Image: @iDiskiTimes / Twitter
Kekana is the most decorated player in the history of South African top-flight football with eight league titles to his name. He was truly one of Pitso Mosimane's most trusted lieutenants in battle. Somewhat surprisingly, Kekana was only capped 21 times by Bafana Bafana but didn't allow that oddity to get in the way of his quest for club glory.
It's hard to forget Kekana's match-winning display in the 2015 Telkom Knockout against Kaizer Chiefs at Moses Mabhida Stadium. Amakhosi were denied not once but twice from the penalty spot by the excellent Denis Onyango in goal, first from Siphiwe Tshabalala and then Camaldine Abraw. It would be Kekana who smashed home Sundowns' third from a sublime Themba Zwane backheel to seal a 3-1 win.
As was the case on so many occasions throughout his career, Hlompho was on the winning side in a cup final. A year later, Kekana would lift African club football's biggest prize as Sundowns became CAF Champions League kings. Hlompho Kekana was more than a 6. He was also a marauding number 8. Photo: Deryck Foster/BackpagePix
Kekana's evolution into a complete midfield player saw him reinvent his style on more than one occasion. Originally a pure defensive midfielder, he moved through the gears as a destructive box-to-box operator, later a classic number 8, and finally, he did a bit of everything on a football pitch with panache and authority.
Nothing quite says 'the complete package' like a midfielder who chips in with crucial goals in big games, thunderbolts from range, curling free-kicks and a nomination for the Puskás award in 2016. Only players with massive personalities can pull off an audacious effort from around 60 yards like Kekana did against Cameroon some six years ago, and this man had those qualities and more in abundance. The Guardian called that goal 'Beckham-esque.'
On March 4th 2012, Mamelodi Sundowns broke the South African record for most goals scored in a single match when they beat Powerlines FC 24-0 in the Nedbank Cup. Kekana helped himself to seven goals on the day as Sundowns showed no mercy to their amateur opponents.
Back when there was a galaxy of Sundowns stars like Zwane, Zungu, Billiat, Modise, Dolly & Tau, Hlompho Kekana was the rock orbiting Lucas 'Masterpieces' Moripe Stadium for almost a decade.
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