Lucas Radebe: Nwankwo Kanu, My Most Dreaded EPL African Opponent

He left Kaiser Chiefs for Leeds United to ‘Babysit’ for Phil Masinga but ended up not only donning the colours of the Lilywhites for 11 illustrious years but went on to captain the team. Kunle Adewale caught up with Lucas Radebe, who also led the Bafana Bafana to AFCON glory in 1996 as he goes down memory lane on the rivalries between Bafana Bafana and the Super Eagles in the early 90s to the  2000s. In spite of the array of stars at Nigeria’s disposal then, with many of them holding sway in the English Premier League, Radebe singled out Nwankwo Kanu as his most dreaded African opponent in the English top flight 

Lucas Radebe was in Lagos, Nigeria to be part of activities marking the 30th anniversary of the Premier League with EPL Africa’s greatest XI is part of celebration.

Between March 24 and June 30, a 30-man list was presented to football fans across Africa to vote their best African footballers to have graced the Premier League, on SuperSport website. Players with the highest votes were unveiled as EPL Africa XI at the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island on June 6.

During his time with Leeds United the Chief as he was fondly called by Elland Road faithful came against many African players and the obvious questions was which African Premier League player was his toughest opponent, he reacted thus: “Nwankwo Kanu was just unbelievable.  I think he made the difference during his time at Arsenal. He was so difficult to mark. You just have to admire him. He was quality. He was class. With his long legs he does so many unbelievable things. He scored one of the best goals I have ever seen for Arsenal, from a very tight angle. He was just an unbelievable player.”

Despite the huge respect, Radebe has for Kanu, he ironically omitted the gangling forward in his list of Premier League African XI.

‘Papilo’ however made the list of Premier League African XI.

Radebe indeed said Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry, was the hardest striker he faced in his Premier League career. He said Henry’s dynamism made him a very tough opponent, not just for him, but for other opponents.

“The toughest striker I faced in my Premier League career was Thiery Henry. You don’t just know how to approach him. If you go tight to him, he lifts the ball over your head, he’s gone. He has a good understanding of the game. He drops deep, receives the ball, and he breezes past you with speed,” the former Kaiser Chiefs defender said.

On who is greatest African player to ever grace the English top flight, Radebe was quick to mention the name of Ivorian great, Didier Drogba.

“My greatest African Premier League player is Didier Drogba,” Radebe said.

An interview with Radebe without the question on the rivalries between the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana in the early 1990s up to early 2000s coming to fore was never complete.

On the assertion in some quarters that South Africa won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations only because Nigeria failed to defend the title.

Laughs. “It was sad to see Nigeria not participating because they would be coming as champions. But we had a team that was in form with many players that plied their trade in the Premier League. It would have been interesting to see the Super Eagles against Banana Bafana, which would have put to rest the argument of who the true African champions was. For the fact that we won the AFCON in 1996 means we could have beaten anybody,” he asserted.

Nigeria however showed superiority over South Africa when both sides met at the quarter finals of the 2002 AFCON co-hosted by Nigeria and Ghana in Lagos as the Super Eagles won by two goals to nil. The Chief however blamed Bafana Bafana’s defeat to the first minute goal conceded by his side.

“Considering the quality of the Nigerians chasing the game as early as the first minute was not good for us and we never recovered throughout the match,” he noted.

Asked of his best moments at Leeds United, he expressed: “One of my best moments at Leeds United was when we took the club from the bottom half to the top three of the Premier League, which was one of the moments when we thought we could really clinch the title. That was how close we went to winning it. Before then the club has not been in the limelight for so long, but by booking a place in the Champions League, Elland Road was able to attract European giants like AC Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid. The night I scored the goal against Spartak Moscow to qualify Leeds to the semifinals was magical to me.

“Leeds qualifying for the Champions League for me was a great accomplishment. I grew up watching the Champions League with great players but to be able to play in the competition and play against the best players in the world was absolutely amazing and I enjoyed the moment and opportunity.  Not just as a footballer but as a person. It was a dream come true for me.”

On whether he felt at that time Leeds could go on to win the competition.

“We played in the UEFA playoffs before we qualified for the Champions League proper and we got to the semifinals. It was a team that was growing in confidence and as the captain of the club it was just amazing and I did believe in the quality of the players we had then and we wanted to make history and playing in the semifinals was indeed a great achievement,” the former Bafana Bafana skipper said.

Another memorable moment Radebe would not forget in a hurry in his 11 years at Leeds United was when he had to fill in as a goalkeeper, after the team’s shot stopper was red-carded.

Radebe is however not impressed that the same Leeds he laboured to take to the top was relegated to the English Championship last season. “I think the quality and the passion is not the same. When you play for a club like Leeds United you have to cherish the badge. You have to know what it means to be a Leeds United player. Not just the club but the city. When the club does well the city is happy, the fans are very passionate about the club. It’s great history. It is a club that when you play for you become part of the city for your entire life. It’s sad to see them go down, but football has changed and a club needs big investment to compete with the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea. It’s a tough one,” Radebe admitted.