Motshweneng Simon Gopane (born 26 December 1970 in Bloemfontein) is a South African football coach and a former international goalkeeper. Throughout his career he played for Bloemfontein Celtic, Jomo Cosmos, Umtata Bush Bucks and Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. while also representing South Africa in the 1998 African Cup of Nations and 1998 FIFA World Cup.[1] Since retiring he would move into goalkeeper coaching and returned to his local team Bloemfontein Celtic before having a brief spell as the Head coach for Roses United F.C.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Motshweneng Simon Gopane | ||
| Date of birth | 26 December 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Bloemfontein, South Africa | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bloemfontein Celtic (GK coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1999 | Bloemfontein Celtic | 204 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Jomo Cosmos F.C. | 29 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Umtata Bush Bucks | 25 | (0) |
| 2001–2003 | Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. | 0 | (0) |
| 2003–2008 | Bloemfontein Celtic | 27 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 1998 | South Africa | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2010 | Bloemfontein Celtic (GK coach) | ||
| 2014 | Roses United F.C. | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
International career
editGopane would be called up to the South African national team squad for the 1998 African Cup of Nations held in Burkina Faso as an uncapped player leading up to the tournament. He would go on to make his debut within the event on 16 February 1998 in a group game against Namibia, which South Africa won 4–1.[3]
He was in the South African national team for the 1998 FIFA World Cup as an injury replacement.[4] Andre Arendse was injured before the start of the tournament. His replacement, Paul Evans, was also injured shortly after arriving as a replacement. Gopane was then called up, and sat on the bench for the last two matches. He holds the distinctive position of being the first-ever goalkeeper to wear the number 23 for his country in the FIFA World Cup.
References
edit- ^ Simon Gopane at footballzz.com Retrieved 10 May 2013
- ^ S. Gopane at uk.soccerway.com Retrieved 19 November 2014
- ^ African Nations Cup 1998 – Final Tournament Details at rsssf.org 5 June 2005 Retrieved 19 November 2014
- ^ South Africa's Evans to be replaced by Gopane at fifa.com 17 June 1998 Retrieved 10 May 2013
External links
edit- Simon Gopane at National-Football-Teams.com
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