NICKNAMES in old South African soccer were not given willy-nilly. Your play earned you the nickname.
Lucas Moripe, who died earlier this week aged 82, was so good they gave him two monikers. And they both spoke to his brilliance with the ball.
Masterpieces, they called him because he was a master – a player who could make the ball talk. And then they went even further as to refer to him as ‘modimo wa bolo’ – the god of football. Now if that does not tell any of you who did not have the honour to watch the legendary Moripe in his heyday playing for Pretoria Callies, then nothing will.
In the 70s Callies were up there with the likes of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates as well as Pimville United Brothers as the country’s top sides. And Masterpieces was the heart and soul of Callies – his talent such that he was National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) player of the year in 1973. And in that same year he was awarded with the South African Sportsman of the Year accolade.
Teenage Dladla, the former Chiefs star who was inducted into the SA Hall of Fame this week, said Moripe was worthy of a place there too.
“He was supposed to have been inducted like this already,” Dladla said before waxing lyrical about his former adversary “Master was master. That’s why they called him modimo wa bolo. We used to play against Pretoria Callies when I arrived at Chiefs. He was something special. Masterpieces had his own way of playing soccer; he was great, he was a legend.”
Dladla is pleased that Moripe was honoured before he died.
“What they did in Atteridgeville is something very good. To have the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium is good,” he said in reference to the soccer venue that was previously named Super Stadium but has since been renamed after the legend – something that was done years ago.
“I think even a statue would be great for him because of the great things that he did for the supporters. He had a passion for the game.”
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi also paid tribute to Moripe while sending his sympathies to the family.
“My sincere condolences to the Lucas Moripe family. I think he is one of the greatest legends in our country and it is important to acknowledge the big contribution he had in our football, to lay a stage to give people like us opportunities to coach at this level.
“As a club we are sincerely saddened by the situation. He is an icon in our club and in our city and it's important to pass our sincere condolences.”
The Premier Soccer League also sent condolences to the family and announced that there will be a moment of silence observed in the dearly departed Moripe’s honour at this evening’s Carling Knockout final between Sundowns and Magesi FC taking place in Bloemfontein. There will also be a moment of silence at all the Motsepe Foundation Championship matches.
Moripe played for Callies and then joined Orlando Pirates in the twilight of his career in 1981 before he retired due to a knee injury. He was wheelchair bound late in his life and earlier this year the owners of Pretoria Callies got him to come to the stadium named after him before their match so he could meet the players.
The owner challenged his players to try and gain promotion to the Betway Premiership promotion before Moripe died. Now that he has, it could well be that Callies now have even extra motivation to win the Motsepe Foundation Championship or gain promotion via the play offs.
They are currently in the lower ring of the table in 14th position with nine points from ten matches. It will take some doing for them to move up the table and eventually finish in the top three at least. But they cannot claim to be lacking in motivation.