GladAfrica Championship Tshakuma FC not only pulled off a shock 3-2 extra-time win against SuperSport United on Friday night, coach Lucky Nelukau also set tongues wagging for his flamboyant military garb he sported on the touchline.
The match was notable for a few reasons. Apart from the second-tier campaigners’ shock win , in a dramatic game of swinging fortunes at Thohoyandou Stadium, Tshakuma were roared on by a vociferous crowd.
It was the first domestic Premier Soccer League-sanctioned match in two years, since the onset of Covid-19, to be played in front of spectators thanks to the government’s easing of restrictions to allow crowds of 50% of a venue’s capacity.
But it was the military camouflage outfits of Nelukau and his assistants that stole the show and set tongues wagging.
“I've got a brother, Arnold Mudau, who you all know, who passed away a few weeks back. And then this is for him, this cup I'm playing for him,” the coach told Far Post.
“He was always wearing [clothes] like this. If you pass Louis Trichardt you will pass a house in Tshakhuma [painted] in camouflage like this.”
WATCH | Tskahuma coach Nelukau explains flamboyant military garb
GladAfrica Championship Tshakuma FC not only pulled off a shock 3-2 extra-time win against SuperSport United on Friday night, coach Lucky Nelukau also set tongues wagging for his flamboyant military garb he sported on the touchline.
The match was notable for a few reasons. Apart from the second-tier campaigners’ shock win , in a dramatic game of swinging fortunes at Thohoyandou Stadium, Tshakuma were roared on by a vociferous crowd.
It was the first domestic Premier Soccer League-sanctioned match in two years, since the onset of Covid-19, to be played in front of spectators thanks to the government’s easing of restrictions to allow crowds of 50% of a venue’s capacity.
But it was the military camouflage outfits of Nelukau and his assistants that stole the show and set tongues wagging.
“I've got a brother, Arnold Mudau, who you all know, who passed away a few weeks back. And then this is for him, this cup I'm playing for him,” the coach told Far Post.
“He was always wearing [clothes] like this. If you pass Louis Trichardt you will pass a house in Tshakhuma [painted] in camouflage like this.”
Arnold “Soldier Lion of Judah” Mudau was a prominent and apparently controversial businessman and restaurant and bar owner in Tshakuma, known for his trademark military attire, who reportedly died in a car crash last month.
The colourful Nelukau told SuperSport TC in his post-match interview that Tskahuma, battling in 11th place in the GladAfrica, will win the Nedbank Cup.
Asked about his tribute to his brother, Nelakau said: “He’s smiling. I know even if he's no more he's still with me.
“I was close, close, close to him. I know he's still with me, he's still telling me I'm going to win the final.
“I'm going to win the final for him. This R7m [first prize] I'm going to give to him.”
He added: “I told you even before — we were supposed to win it in 90 minutes. It's just that we were unlucky.
“I'm one of the coaches who are lucky to have the players who respect the career that God has given to them. These players respect me — the way we were working in the training sessions I knew the result was going to be like this.”
On the noisy crowd that backed his team, the coach said: “We have got a lot of supporters. We are still going to do it. There is no team in Limpopo who can compete with us for supporters.”