The freezing Yorkshire weather, the physical nature of English football and ‘scary’ coaches were just some of the issues Lucas Radebe overcame in his early days at Leeds United on his path to becoming a club legend.
Radebe made the move from South Africa to West Yorkshire in 1994 alongside his compatriot Phil Masinga as the pair swapped Kaizer Chiefs for Leeds United. Centre-back Radebe would remain at Elland Road for 11 seasons, establishing himself as perhaps the fans’ most popular player at the club since the Revie era thanks to his performances on the pitch and nature off it.
But it wasn’t all plain sailing, as the former South Africa skipper admits he had to overcome a ‘difficult’ transition period when he moved to England.
“Apartheid was abolished once and for all in South Africa in ’94, and not long after the first mixed-race elections were held, myself and Phil Masinga moved to England to join Leeds,” Radebe told FourFourTwo. “I’d known beforehand that they were interested in signing me, but they actually travelled to South Africa to see Phil – on both occasions when their chief scout Geoff Sleight visited, I didn’t play due to injury. Great respect to Geoff and Howard Wilkinson, who took a chance on me and snapped me up without watching me play. Someone must have whispered a few positive things in their ear about me!
“When I signed for Leeds, it was a difficult introduction to English football. The change of environment was a shock to my system. It was my first time travelling that far away from South Africa, leaving everybody I knew at home. It was hard to adapt to the weather and the football culture.
“Games were very physical and the tempo was high. When I joined, I felt like Howard treated Phil and I harshly. Playing under him was particularly tough – I recall him saying, “This isn’t South Africa,” and ordering us to “work harder”. When Howard and his coach Mick Hennigan spoke, it could be quite scary. I wasn’t used to their management methods.
“Early on at Leeds, I panicked and made mistakes in games. Phil and I both worked really hard, but he got into the team first. He played brilliantly, scored a hat-trick and the Leeds supporters came up with the nickname ‘Waltzing Masinga’ for him. I usually sat on the bench and would be ice-cold from head to toe. At some grounds, it was freezing and I couldn’t cope with it.
“The training sessions were also challenging. At Kaizer Chiefs, we used to train from 4pm until 6pm for three days, then play a match. Leeds trained in the morning through to the afternoon every day, which was demanding. I had a pretty shaky first season. I damaged my knee ligaments and underwent a big ACL operation. When Phil returned home to South Africa during the summer, I stayed behind in Yorkshire to work with the club’s physios. When Wilkinson was sacked in September 1996, I’d recovered and was doing well.”
From that point on Radebe’s Elland Road career took flight as he became a key part of the exciting Whites side that threatened to disrupt the Premier League pecking order at the turn of the century. Injuries would restrict Radebe’s playing time during the club’s thrilling European adventures, with the defender remaining loyal to the club and sticking with them after they were relegated to the Championship in 2004. He would hang up his boots at the end of the 2004-05 campaign.
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