Phil Masinga

Masinga 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 Africa 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 1996 Africa Cup of Nations and when they finished second to Egypt in the 1998 Africa 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 FIFA World Cup in France. He played 58 games for his country, scoring 18 goals. ==Managerial career==

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

On 13 January 2019, Masinga died in Johannesburg. He had been admitted to hospital the previous month, due to cancer. ==Career statistics==

Jomo Cosmos • Nedbank Cup: 1990 Mamelodi Sundowns • National Soccer League: 1993 South Africa • Africa Cup of Nations: 1996; runner-up: 1998 ==See also==