Stanley “Screamer” Tshabalala, a senior official for the Orlando Pirates and a former coach of Bafana Bafana, was shot during a home invasion on Wednesday afternoon.
Tshabalala is currently recovering
The family claims that Tshabalala, a close friend of Bucs chairman Irvin Khoza, was attacked by unidentified shooters and that the police were notified of the incident.
Police are handling the situation
In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, the family’s representative, Thato Matuka, said the police are handling the situation.
“The Tshabalala family would like to thank the public for their messages of support during this time and have asked for privacy while Bra Stan is recovering,” said Matuka.
As head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns in the 1980s, Tshabalala created the famous “piano and shoe-shine” style that the team became well-known for in South African football circles.
Tshabalala, one of the founders of Kaizer Chiefs, was once a chief scout for Amakhosi.
He earned the nickname “Screamer” because of his incessant shouting for the ball.
Boxing lessons
Born in Orlando East in 1949, the first sport to attract Tshabalala was boxing. He was a student of the famous Transvaal boxing champ, Jerry Moloi.
Tshabalala started boxing lessons while he was still at school.
“I wasn’t a great boxer. Sometimes I got a good hiding from my colleagues,” he relates in his biography.
“At home my parents complained about this ‘panel beating’ [bruises]. I did not last long, and I decided to give up the sport.”
He then decided to devote his whole life and spirit to soccer and was already a regular in the street teams.
“In 1968, I was recruited into the local team, Orlando Preston Brothers,” he explains in his biography.
