Amakhosi Executive Chairman, Dr Kaizer Motaung paid a sincere tribute to veteran journalist, Sy Lerman, who sadly died on 30 August at the age of 88.

Lerman was one of South Africa’s most respected sports writers in a career that lasted more than half a century, documenting local sport (particularly football, although also tennis and boxing) through the apartheid period and into the democratic era, working for numerous publications, including The Rand Daily Mail, Sunday Times, The Star and The Citizen, and earning such accolades as the South African Sports Writer of the Year (the first ever recipient) and CNN African Sports Writer of the Year.

Known to the Chairman since the nascent days of Kaizer Chiefs back in the early 1970s, Lerman is deeply mourned by the Club’s founder.

“Sy Lerman is a big tree that has fallen,” the Chairman said on learning of his passing. “In the countless interviews I had with him, he was the most softly spoken journalist I ever met, with a calm demeanour, which I liked about him. He was great to sit with and discuss football. He’d been around for many years and was a very experienced journalist. His contribution to football in this country has been immense.”

The Chairman went on to share some amusing anecdotes from his experiences with Lerman, recalling, “Sy often used to arrive at matches at halftime, yet he was able to compose beautifully scripted reports that covered the game from beginning to end. We never knew how he did it. Jokes aside, he was unanimously regarded as an outstanding journalist. Despite his tranquil, polite disposition, he was very thorough and honest, and not afraid to ask difficult questions. He would pose a question and then allow for an uninterrupted response. I don’t know of a single time he was ever involved in any controversy. He conducted himself with professional credibility.”

In closing, the Chairman offered some words of comfort to Lerman’s grieving family: “He did very well for football in this country. As a journalist, he played his part, and one can only say that his family has lost a very valuable character, of whom they can feel incredibly proud. I wish to pass on my heartfelt condolences to them. He is a great loss to the game in South Africa, and journalism as a whole.”