South African international right-back Anele Ngcongca died in a car crash near Durban, his Amazulu club announced on Monday. Ngcongca died after being thrown from a car whose driver lost control. The Cape native was part of the South African squad at the 2010 Home World Cup, and participated in the 2-1 victory over France, which was not enough to prevent a first-round elimination of the organizing country (the first on the continent to host the World Cup). Ngcongca has played 53 times for Bafana Bafana, his last appearance in the selection dating back four years. After making professional debuts at FC Fortune du Cap, he spent nine years in Europe, playing for Genk in Belgium between 2007 and 2015 and on loan at Troyes the following season. The memory of the 33-year-old has been hailed by his former coach, Pitso Mosimane, who described him as an ‘unsung hero’. “We were blessed to have him,” Mosimane told AFP, recalling the four years they spent together at Mamelodi Sundowns before both leaving the Pretoria team recently. “On the pitch he was a great footballer, although often underestimated, and off the pitch he was a true gentleman,” said Mosimane, former South Africa coach.
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