Posted in Features, News on Feb 24, 2022.
It has been a big month for Marks ‘Go Man Go’ Maponyane as the much-loved Amakhosi icon turned 60.
To mark the milestone and to pay tribute to the sharpshooter www.kaizerchiefs.com looks at six Maponyane facts that gives insight into his illustrious Chiefs career.
- Marks Maponyane made his Glamour Boys debut on 12 April 1981 against Leicester City at Eldorado Park, scoring on debut in a 2-1 win.
- Marks was named as the 1983 Footballer of the Year, a year in which Chiefs won the Datsun Challenge.
- Marks scored 21 times and was on fire in the 1986 season, netting 21 times, including seven in cup games.
- Maponyane was again crowned as the Footballer of the Year in 1987 after a prolific season, in which he scored 26 goals – 13 in the league and 13 in cup matches.
- The striker became the first player to score a hat-trick in a cup final, the BP Top 8, netting all three goals against Grinaker Rangers in a 3-0 first leg win, with Chiefs going on to win the final on aggregate 5-1 that year.
- Amazingly, Maponyane netted five times in cup finals in 1987, and became Chiefs’ ‘go-to-man’ for the big occasion.