Phil Masinga


Philemon Raul Masinga was a South African professional footballer and manager who played as a striker from 1990 to 2002.
He played in the English Premier League for Leeds United, and Italian Serie A for Salernitana and Bari. He also played for Jomo Cosmos, Mamelodi Sundowns with his cousin Bennett Masinga, St. Gallen and Al-Wahda. He represented South Africa in 58 international games, scoring 18 goals. In 2006, he briefly went into football management with PJ Stars.

Club career

He made his debut for Jomo Cosmos in 1990, before moving on to Mamelodi Sundowns.
In 1994 he left for English Premier League club Leeds United; the deal that his agent Marcelo Houseman did with Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson also involved Lucas Radebe moving to Leeds from Kaizer Chiefs. He played in the English Premier League for two years, playing 31 games and scoring five goals, and also scored a hat-trick in an FA Cup tie against Walsall on 17 January 1995.
Masinga moved to Switzerland with St. Gallen in 1996, followed by spells in Italy with Salernitana and Bari. In 2001, a return to English Football with Coventry City fell through after he failed to secure a work permit, following which he moved to Al Wahda FC in Abu Dhabi where he completed his playing career.

International career

Masinga made his international debut in July 1992 against Cameroon; this was South Africa's first match following readmission of the country to international football.
In an African Cup of Nations qualifier versus Zambia in 1992, Masinga became the first South African ever to be sent off in an international match. He was in the Bafana Bafana side when South Africa won the African Cup of Nations in 1996 and when they finished second to Egypt in the 1998 African Cup of Nations. "Chippa", as he was affectionately known, scored the decisive goal in the 1997 game against the Republic of the Congo that took South Africa to the 1998 World Cup in France. He played 58 games for his country, scoring 18 goals.

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
111 July 1992FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa1–12–2Friendly
224 October 1992FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa1–01–01994 FIFA World Cup qualification
325 July 1993Sir Aneroid Jugnauth Stadium, Belle Vue Maurel, Mauritius3–03–01994 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
424 April 1994Mmabatho Stadium, Mmabatho, South Africa1–01–0Friendly
54 September 1994Mahamasina Municipal Stadium, Antananarivo, Madagascar1–01–01996 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
615 October 1994Odi Stadium, Mabopane, South Africa1–01–01996 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
713 January 1996FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa1–03–01996 Africa Cup of Nations
824 April 1996FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa1–02–3Friendly
99 November 1996FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa1–01–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
1027 April 1997Stade Municipal, Lome, Togo2–12–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification
1124 May 1997Old Trafford, Manchester, England1–11–2Friendly
128 June 1997FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa2–03–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
1316 August 1997FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa1–01–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
1424 January 1998Independence Stadium, Windhoek, South Africa2–12–31998 COSAFA Cup
1523 January 1999King George V Stadium, Curepipe, Mauritius1–01–12000 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
1627 February 1999Odi Stadium, Mabopane,South Africa2–14–12000 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
1716 December 2000FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa2–02–12002 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
1825 February 2001Chichiri Stadium, Blantyre, Malawi1–02–12002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Management

In 2006, Masinga briefly coached PJ Stars, a now-defunct third-division South African club.

Death

On 13 January 2019, the president of the South African Football Association, Danny Jordaan, announced his death. Masinga had been admitted to hospital the previous month, due to cancer.