Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana legend Siphiwe Tshabalala has taken pride in achieving being the first Amakhosi player to score at the FIFA World Cup finals.
‘Shabba’ became the first African player to score in the continent’s first ever World Cup event in 2010 at FNB Stadium as South Africa opened their global showpiece campaign with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Mexico.
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Sadly for South Africa, they went on to crash out of the tournament in the group stage after a 3-0 defeat to Uruguay and a 2-1 win over France with Mexico pipping them to the last 16 progression.
During his playing days, the Phiri-born left footer notched up an impressive 334 appearances with 55 goals and 85 assists for Chiefs between 2007-2018 while turning out 91 times for South Africa with 12 goals and 10 assists.
His goal against Mexico has been edged in SA football history books and Shabba has spoken about how it was never about breaking records but something he could look back at with immense pride.
“It was an incredible achievement to score at a World Cup and also to be the first Kaizer Chiefs player to do so,” he told the Chiefs website.
“When our stories are being told and put in the archive, my name will be there forever. For me, it was never about breaking records; it was about playing to the best of my ability, and that helped me achieve all the accolades that came with scoring against Mexico.
“I enjoyed representing my country, and scoring against nations from five continents is also an achievement I look back at with fondness.”