South Africa is a country with a rich footballing history, so it should not be surprising to discover that the country has produced some of the most iconic footballers in the world. South African players have made their mark domestically and for some of the most prominent teams worldwide, from gritty defenders to dazzling attackers.

Over the years, dozens of players have represented the South African national team and done Bafana Bafana proud. The following trio of South Africans are considered elite players and arguably the best-ever South African football stars.

Lucas Radebe

Not many footballers can say they have been shot, turned down a transfer to Manchester United and A.C. Milan, have had a band named after them, and have had Nelson Mandela call them a hero, but Lucas Radebe can. Radebe was an incredible footballer whose appearances influenced the odds on sports betting websites, but he is equally, if not more so, a fantastic man.

Radebe started his professional playing career with Kaizer Chiefs in 1989 and made 113 appearances before leaving for new pastures in 1994. Leeds United, then of the English Premier League, bought Philomen Masinga, another South African, for £250,000, and Radebe was only part of the deal to help Masinga settle in England. However, it was Radebe who became a cult figure at Leeds.

Radebe played 256 games in the famous white jersey of Leeds United, putting in superb performance after superb performance in central defence. He was willing to put his body on the line and play through the pain barrier to help Leeds win at all costs. Even today, Leeds United supporters sing Radebe’s name from the stands.

“The Chief,” as Leeds fans called him, played 70 times for his country. Radebe helped guide South Africa to the African Cup of Nations title in 1996, captained the team at the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup, and was instrumental in helping South Africa win the bid to host the 2010 competition.

Throw into the mix a FIFA Fair Play Award for his contribution to helping fight racism in football, and you can see why many hold Radebe in such high regard.

Benni McCarthy

Every successful football team has an out-and-out goalscorer in its squad, and Benni McCarthy was that man for almost every team he played for. A young McCarthy began his playing career with Seven Stars, scoring 39 goals in 49 games, earning him a transfer to Dutch team Ajax. Another 21 goals in 48 games over two seasons saw McCarthy head to Celta Vigo in Spain, where his form dipped.

FC Porto of Portugal is where McCarthy’s career took off. He won the Portuguese Primeira Liga title in his first season and became the first South African to lift the UEFA Champions League, which was helped by McCarthy scoring 25 goals in 47 appearances. McCarthy spent three seasons in Portugal before moving to Blackburn Rovers in England.

Despite Blackburn’s struggles, McCarthy still scored 52 goals in 140 games across four seasons. He ended his playing career with West Ham United, although he failed to score in the 14 games he played.

McCarthy is South Africa’s all-time leading goalscorer, having found the back of the net for Bafana Bafana 31 times during his 79 caps. Many South Africans consider McCarthy a legend of the game, and they are correct to think like that.

Doctor Khumalo

To give the midfielder his full name, Doctor Khumalo, or Theophilus Doctorson Khumalo is an iconic figure among Kaizer Chiefs supporters, having spent 17 years with the team from 1987 to 2004. During his time with the Kaizer Chiefs, Khumalo played 397 games and scored 30 goals. He had a couple of loan spells in Argentina and the United States, but Khumalo is a Kaizer Chief through and through.

Khumalo played 50 times for South Africa, making him one of the country’s most capped players. Although his performances for South Africa were always top-tier, a game in the 1996 Mandela Cup saw him create one goal and score another as South Africa enjoyed a 2-0 lead over Brazil. Unfortunately, Brazil came back and won 3-2, but Khumalo was the stand-out player among some global stars in that game. Despite interest from some big European clubs, Khumalo nailed his colours to the Kaizer Chiefs mast and remained in South Africa.