Tuesday, February 11, 2025
HomeBetway PremiershipHeartbroken Petersen On Fleurs Not Making His Dream Debut

Heartbroken Petersen On Fleurs Not Making His Dream Debut

Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Petersen admits he’s heartbroken and that he will never forget his fallen teammate Luke Donn Fleurs.

Fleurs was tragically murdered last week at the age of 24, before realising his dream of donning the famous Gold and Black shirt of Amakhosi in an official match.

He was widely considered one of the finest defenders in the country, having starred for Ubuntu Academy, SuperSport United and South Africa’s U17, U20 and U23 national teams which took him to the Olympics.

After joining Chiefs, he was slowly returning to full fitness and awaiting his chance to make his debut for the club but his life was taken away in a violent act of crime, during a hijacking in Johannesburg – where six suspects have since been arrested in connection to.

“I’m sad, heartbroken, we were together for the past five, six months you know, as I said in there, once your path crosses with Luke, you will never forget him, he had that impact on people, you know,” Petersen said.

“It’s like love at first sight, he was a good teammate to have, a great person to be around, he could light up a room, you get him in the morning, he’s happy, get him after training, he’s happy, he was never complaining.

“So it’s difficult in this time but he would have loved for us to be happy, to be joyful, that’s what he stands for, be happy and live your life to its fullest.”

Petersen recalled that Fleurs was a valuable member of the dressing room for his positive energy and mentioned how fearless he was, a risk taker on the pitch, which made him a unique defender.

“The only thing he wanted to do… he was working towards it, to make his debut for Chiefs, I played some friendly matches with him and he was always happy, whenever he stepped on the field, you could see that it was something he loves to do,” he added.

“He did it with all his heart, no regrets, that’s one thing he stood for to live life to the fullest and when he was on the pitch, he would make sure he’d make that pass even when someone told him not to make it.

“For him, it was he doesn’t know when he could make that pass again, so the really sad part was not being able to share the pitch with him [in professional football] but maybe one day…”

With both players from Cape Town, they naturally shared a special bond and he went on to share a story about Luke that typified his character.

“I think it sums Luke up, one morning on my way to training when I saw a message in the group, he said he was stuck, and I called him and he’s like, I asked him where you at, he said just before the turn-off and I said alright I’ll come to get you now,” Petersen explained.

“I arrived there, he got into the car and he was like ‘Eish Beeza, I mos forgot to put in petrol man, I thought my zero was gonna take me there, coz I trust my zero’, and I think that’s Luke, pushing the limits, pushing the boundaries, if someone tells him he can’t do something, he’ll make sure to show you he’s going to try to do it. And 99% of the time he will be successful.”

Chiefs have honoured Fleurs by retiring his number 26 shirt number, which was announced at his memorial at FNB Stadium on Thursday.

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