 Khune before a match against Poland in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Itumeleng Isaac Khune | ||
| Date of birth | (1987-06-20)20 June 1987 (age 38) | ||
| Place of birth | Ventersdorp, South Africa | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2004 | Kaizer Chiefs | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2024 | Kaizer Chiefs | 286 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2008–2020 | South Africa | 91 | (0) |
| 2016 | South Africa Olympic | 3 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 11 June 2023 | |||
Itumeleng Isaac Khune (born 20 June 1987)[1] is a South African former professionalfootball player who spent his entire career asgoalkeeper forKaizer Chiefs in thePremier Soccer League, and also theSouth African national team. He is often hailed as one of the best goalkeepers inSouth Africa, nicknamed "Mzansi's number one".[2]
Khune shot to fame when he saved three penalties fromEsrom Nyandoro andPeter Ndlovu againstMamelodi Sundowns in theTelkom Knockout final on 1 December 2007. He is also well known for saving aDavid Villa penalty and proceeding to make a double save in the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup group stage match againstSpain a day before his 22nd birthday on 20 June 2009.[3] On 16 June 2010 againstUruguay, Khune became the second goalkeeper in the history of theFIFA World Cup to be sent off.[4] He is also famous for performing aRené Higuitascorpion kick save in a league victory overMpumalanga Black Aces on 28 October 2015,[5] which made rounds inEngland. Khune is known for his quick reflexes and his distribution which has been hailed as "the best you will see anywhere" by formerLiverpool goalkeeperSander Westerveld.[6]
Khune was born in Tshing,Ventersdorp in theNorth West as one of six children of Elias and Flora Khune. He is ofTswana heritage.[7] His father Elias, worked as a driver at a mine inCarletonville and also played amateur football as a striker.[8] Unlike many South African players who cite kicking a football on their hometown's dusty streets as their starting point, Khune was in love withcricket idolisingNicky Boje. He eventually decided to pursue a career in football to earn a living for him and his family. He attended New Nation, Westridge, St Barnabas and RW Fick High Schools. His younger brotherLucky Khune previously played as a striker for Chiefs and currently for PSL sideChippa United. In 2019 Khune and his wife Sphelele Makhunga got married traditionally.[9]
Khune started out as astriker when he arrived for trials at Chiefs in 1999, but assumed the gloves by chance after he experienced chest problems during a junior game and found himself being reduced to aball boy. Diving for balls that had missed the target he caught the attention of youth coachTerror Sephoa who converted him to agoalkeeper. In 2004, he was promoted to the first team.
After three years of waiting to get any game time, Khune finally got his opportunity in the early stages of the 2007–08 season after the departure of number one goalkeeperRowen Fernandez to German clubArminia Bielefeld. With the experiencedEmile Baron often plagued by injuries, Khune was made number one by then Chiefs coachMuhsin Ertugral. He made his PSL debut againstJomo Cosmos on 25 August 2007. His first season in the top-flight was highly successful as several match-winning displays for his side earned him a host of individual awards with Chiefs having the best defensive record in the league conceding only 19 goals in 30 games.
In his second season, he often struggled to regain the form and consistency of the previous season even though Chiefs managed to finish third in the standings and win theMTN 8.
During the 2009–10 season a finger injury sidelined Khune for three months giving understudyArthur Bartman a chance to play regularly in his absence.
In October 2011, Khune was assigned as captain replacingJimmy Tau. The 2012–13 season was arguably his best with Khune leading his side to a league and cup double.[10] He was also voted into Goal.com's Goal50 which is a list of the best players of 2013. He was ranked 45th ahead ofFernandinho,Robbie Keane, andFrank Lampard and behindAndrea Pirlo,Roman Weidenfeller,Victor Wanyama andJames Rodríguez who were all ranked from 40 to 50.[11] He made his 200th appearance for Chiefs againstMpumalanga Black Aces in 2014. Prior to that match he had 91 clean sheets in 199 games and at the beginning of the season, he had played 172 games for Chiefs.[12] In the 2013–14 season he won the Goalkeeper of the Year award for the second time in a row with 15 goals conceded and 18 clean sheets in 25 starts beatingMoeneeb Josephs andAnssi Jakkola.[13] Around July 2014 he was linked to a move toBundesliga clubHannover 96.[14] On 3 September 2014, Khune was diagnosed with a Grade 3stress fracture which he initially suffered from since February 2014. His injury cost him his place in the2015 African Cup of Nations.[15] He was declared fit to play on 23 February 2015 although he did suffer a minor injury after clashingMorgan Gould's studs to his ribs which left a mark in a 4–0 win over Edu Sports in theNedbank Cup.[16] On 9 April 2015 in a 1–0 win over AmaZulu, Khune was controversially sent off in the 82nd minute in a game which also produced nine yellow cards – after receiving two cautions in quick succession from referee Phillip Tinyane at Peter Mokaba Stadium. Khune was first booked for time-wasting before being given his marching orders for showing dissent at the decision. Khune took toTwitter saying: "@OfficialPSL I did nothing wrong. You guys need to take action against these poor referees. "It's about time action is taken against these referees by @OfficialPSL. They've been very poor since beginning of the season. It's unfair how we are painted bad for our actions on the field but we are provoked by these referees, [you] can call me names but I stand for what is right."[17] The league then afforded Khune five days to explain his comments[18] although Khune did issue a public apology.[19]
Khune initially did not renew his contract with Kaizer Chiefs when it expired in June 2015, however, after a long period of negotiations, he returned to the club on 30 July 2015, signing a new contract.[20]
He was part of Bafana Bafana's2008 African Nations Cup squad but was not fielded until he made his international debut againstZimbabwe on 11 March 2008. He had since become the preferred choice in goal by then coachJoel Santana.
Khune was the first-choice goalkeeper in South Africa's squad at the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. He saved a penalty against Spanish starDavid Villa in the group stages.
Khune was selected for the2010 FIFA World Cup asCarlos Alberto Parreira's first-choice goalkeeper and made some good saves in the opening match againstMexico. However, on 16 June 2010, he was sent off againstUruguay when he tripped strikerLuis Suárez inside the penalty area in the 77th minute. He became the second goalkeeper to be sent off in the history of the FIFA World Cup, joiningGianluca Pagliuca who saw red in1994. This was the first red card of his career.[21] Khune subsequently missed South Africa's final group game against France, whereMoeneeb Josephs deputised as Bafana Bafana won 2–1 to restore some pride as they became the first host nation to exit the tournament at the opening stage. After the World Cup, he regained his number one spot in the team and he has kept three consecutive clean sheets on international level.
Khune representedBafana Bafana in the whole tournament of2013 African Cup of Nations and he kept two clean sheets in a goalless draw againstCape Verde and 2–0 victory againstAngola. He was assigned the captaincy in May 2013, taking over fromBongani Khumalo and captained Bafana during the2014 CHAN inSouth Africa.[10]
In 2016, Khune was selected as one of South Africa's overage players for the2016 Summer Olympics. He arrived at the tournament as the player with the most international experience, alongside Nigeria'sMikel John Obi, with 75 national team caps to his name.[22] He was instrumental in his nation's opening match draw against Brazil, making a number of saves from Brazil captainNeymar.[23]
FifaPlayerRatings.com rates Khune in the top 10 of the goalkeepers inFIFA 15 and 525th overall. Khune is described as a player with "higher than normal diving skills and reflexes, making him a skilled close-shot and free-kick stopper with elite kicking abilities and accurate goal kicks and punts, taking pressure off his defense and creating attacking opportunities for his offense. He is technically skilled with his weak foot as well, which will allow him to accurately clear the ball with either foot when under pressure."[24]
He donated R150 000 to an old age home in his hometown ofVentersdorp,North West. He was accompanied by Minister of Sports and Recreation,Fikile Mbalula,George Lebese andGeorge Maluleka.[25]
Kaizer Chiefs
Individual
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