Soweto giants Orlando Pirates were feared by opponents in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) between 2004 and 2006, thanks to a brand of football that brought back smiles on its fans’ faces from dedicated footballers such as Joseph “Duku Duku” Makhanya, Benedict “Tso” Vilakazi, Lebohang, “Cheese Boy” Mokoena and the late Gift “Vum Vum” Leremi.
Although the Buccaneers did not win any silverware at the time, under Serbian coach Kostadin Papic, adoring fans dubbed themselves “Happy People” because of the club’s form. The nicknmake was taken from American musician R Kelly’s hit song of the same name.
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Dobsonville-born Joseph Makhanya played as a right winger for The Searobbers. Like his late father, Ernest “Botsotso” Makhanya, whose soccer career started and ended at Pirates, Dukuduku spent a significant amount of his professional football career with the club as he joined them in the year 2000 until 2011.
The Orlando Pirates dribble wizard made 140 appearances for the club. In 2004, Makhanya scored the only goal to win a Soweto Derby against the Buccaneers’ biggest rivals Kaizer Chiefs.
![Laduma! Viral soccer goals: Orlando Pirates' Joseph Makhanya [VIDEO]](http://www.thesouthafrican.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Isaac-Mabotsa-of-Kaizer-Chiefs-.jpg)
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The midfielder won the league title twice with Pirates in 2000/01 and 2002/03 as well as the MTN8 trophy twice.
In 2011, Makhanya was loaned out to defunct side, Mpumalanga Black Aces. From there, he joined Moroka Swallows and retired in 2013.
Dukuduku was selected for the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Egypt in 2006 as one of Ted Dumitru’s many surprise choices for the tournament. That is, unfortunately, the only appearance he has ever made for Bafana Bafana.
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HOW DID HIS NICKNAME COME ABOUT?
According to an interview on the YouTube podcast, Uzivanjani, Makhanya revealed he earned the “Duku Duku” moniker after his debut match for Pirates during the 2000/2001.
The retired footballer came on as a sub against Golden Arrows to create two goals for his team. He further explained that he believes it comes from the defunct SABC 1 show Selimathunzi aka Duku Duku.
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In the IsiZulu language, the word selimathunzi is used to describe the time of the day when it is getting dark or late (evening), and because he was a late substitute during that match, he was given the name. Duku Duku also means “out of the blue” or “all of a sudden” and Makhanya’s impact during his debut match turned things around for the club that day as it went on to win 3-2 after it was 2-0 down before he was introduced.
WHERE IS DUKUDUKU MAKHANYA NOW?
The Orlando Pirates legend went back to his roots last year when the club appointed him as the DStv Diski Challenge coach.
Last year, Makhanya was also a soccer analyst for much-loved sports podcast, iDiski TV, on YouTube.
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During an interview on Kaya FM with Skhumba Hlophe, he revealed that he was running a grassroot development programme as a way to plough back to the youth of Kagiso where his family relocated to when he was about seven years old.
The coach also runs the Joseph Makhanya Tournament which is an annual event which was established in 2008. The last event, which was the Duku Duku Games, took place in March this year.
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