Thomas Madigage Explained

Thomas Madigage
Birth Date:14 November 1970
Birth Place:Burgersfort, South Africa[1]
Death Place:Burgersfort, South Africa
Height:1.70 m
Position:Midfielder
Years1:1983–1986
Clubs1:Arcadia Shepherds
Caps1:17
Goals1:2
Years2:1987–1989
Clubs2:Jomo Cosmos
Caps2:78
Goals2:14
Years3:1990–1991
Clubs3:FC Zürich
Caps3:1
Goals3:1
Years4:1992
Clubs4:Jomo Cosmos
Caps4:24
Goals4:11
Years5:1993–2003
Clubs5:SuperSport United
Caps5:189
Goals5:23
Totalcaps:309
Totalgoals:51
Nationalyears1:1993–1997
Nationalteam1:South Africa
Nationalcaps1:4
Nationalgoals1:0

Thomas Madigage (11 November 1970 – 19 October 2012) was a South African football player and coach.

Club career

Born in Pretoria, Madigage started his career at Arcadia Shepherds where he played alongside Paul Matthews, the son of Roy Matthews, assistant at Jomo Cosmos. After impressing Matthews, he was spotted by Jomo Sono who brought the player to his own team,[2] raising him as a son.[3]

He made his debut for Jomo Cosmos at the age of 16,[4] winning the 1987 National Soccer League in his first year at the club. In 1990, he had a trial at Rangers[5] with fellow Cosmos player Augustine Makalakalane, but the duo was not signed. Instead, both joined Swiss side FC Zürich.

At Zürich, Madigage suffered with knee injuries and played a single league match[6] in a 5-1 loss against FC Luzern, scoring his sole team goal.[7] After failing to appear in further matches, he returned to Jomo Cosmos in 1992.[8]

He later joined Pretoria City (later renamed SuperSport United), winning the 2nd division and reaching the Bob Save Super Bowl in 1995,[9] before retiring in 2003.

International career

Madigage earned four caps for the South African national team.

Retirement

After retiring as a player, Madigage worked as an assistant coach for SuperSport United from 2004 to 2012[10] and later the South African national team.[8]

Later life and death

Madigage died in a car crash in the early hours of Friday 19 October 2012, after hitting a donkey crossing a road near Burgersfort, Limpopo. He was 41 at the time.[8] [11]

Notes and References

  1. News: SA mourns soccer legend . 20 October 2012 . IOL . Patrick . Hlahla . Hosea . Ramphekwa . Sameer . Naik . 10 May 2019 .
  2. Web site: SuperSport.
  3. News: Football legend laid to rest The Star. 2018-06-05. en.
  4. News: Madigage's passing rocks SA. 2018-06-05. en-US.
  5. News: Football mourns Madigage's death IOL Sport. 2018-06-05. en.
  6. Web site: dbFCZ Thomas Madigage. www.dbfcz.ch. de. 2018-06-05.
  7. Web site: dbFCZ Spiel – 15.09.1990. www.dbfcz.ch. de. 2018-06-05.
  8. Web site: South Africa's assistant coach dies in car crash. 19 October 2012. BBC Sport.
  9. Web site: South Africa 1995. RSSSF. 2018-06-05.
  10. News: Madigage to be buried next Sunday. 2018-06-05. en-ZA.
  11. News: Assistant Bafana Bafana coach killed IOL News. 2018-06-05. en.