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Lots of Chippas but only one Masinga

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DIFFERENT CHIPPA Steve Lekoelea’s Chippa nickname was derived from his other name, Machipa. Picture: Lee Warren / Gallo Images
DIFFERENT CHIPPA Steve Lekoelea’s Chippa nickname was derived from his other name, Machipa. Picture: Lee Warren / Gallo Images

Philemon Masinga kept the Chippa nickname legacy going since his goal-scoring exploits were compared with those of the legendary Percy Moloi.

Orlando Pirates legend Teboho Moloi remembered how a former football coach turned administrator, Nick Koapeng, once told him how Masinga earned the moniker made famous by his father, the great Percy.

“Bra Nick said Masinga’s goal-scoring abilities with his head and finishing resembled that of my dad,” Moloi said.

Koapeng was also one of Masinga’s coaches from his amateur days in his hometown of Stilfontein, North West.

Masinga (49) died last Sunday after battling cancer.

TARGET MAN Nkosinathi Nhleko during his days at Kaizer Chiefs. Picture: Duif du Toit / Gallo Images

No other striker will be better remembered for having emulated his net-bulging feat among the many other Chippas who have emerged since Percy Moloi.

There was Nkosinathi Nhleko and Steve Lekoelea but the two brought different meanings to the name.

Nhleko, a former Jomo Cosmos and Bafana marksman, was known for his pace and ability to hold up the ball and turn defenders, but not so much for his scoring abilities.

The only common feature between Nhleko and Masinga – both former Cosmos players – is that they were used as target men and both were victims of the boo brigade while representing Bafana.

Lekoelea said his Chippa sobriquet was derived from his first name Machipa. “People in Sebokeng used to address me by my other name Machipa, which they later modified to Chippa,” said the former Pirates and Moroka Swallows darling.

“So it was not about comparing me with Masinga because I was a playmaker and people admired my dribbling skills more.”

Lekoelea agreed that even his former SA Under-23 team-mate Nhleko did not come close to emulating the fallen legend.

Instead of seeing the emergence of the next generation of Chippas as capable as Masinga, the moniker was adopted by administrators such as Chippa Mpengesi, as well as Safa Johannesburg president Phil Mogodi and former SABC chief executive Phil Molefe, among others.

Mogodi said he was tagged Chippa by the late Sowetan sports journalist Ramatsiyi Moholoa by virtue of being the striker’s namesake, like Molefe.

BIG PHIL Safa Johannesburg president Phil Mogodi had his moments with the late Chippa Masinga. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu / BackpagePix

“It is a coincidence that I used to coach Masinga at Dube Continental during his stay in Soweto after he joined Jomo Cosmos [in the early 90s]. He used to train with us on some days,” said Mogodi.

Meanwhile, Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi once said in an interview he named himself Chippa when he became a club owner in 2010.

“The nickname comes from my days as a kid growing up in the Eastern Cape, where we used to play football in the streets. I was never very good at the game, but we all used to name ourselves ‘Ace’, so I decided to name myself ‘Chippa’. The name stuck and that’s why I named my football club Chippa United.”

SELF NAMED Siviwe Mpengesi named himself Chippa and later established a football club carrying the same name. Picture: Themba Makofane

While Percy Moloi was the icon of his generation, Philemon “Chippa” Masinga also will remain etched in the memory of South Africans for decades to come for penning his own history.

Masinga – best remembered for his strike that sent South Africa to its maiden Fifa World Cup in France in 1998 – remains in the top five of Bafana’s all-time leading scorers, with 18 goals in a national team career, spanning 58 caps.

Rest in peace, Chippa Masinga.

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