The Moroka Swallows family and the South African football fraternity are mourning the death of Daniel Mophosho.
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'Vader', as Mophosho has been fondly known in football circles, passed away on Tuesday.
He has been battling with illness for some time, having spent the last days of his life in and out of hospital. Mophosho was one of the prominent players for The Dube Birds during the 1970s and 1980s.
He was a great midfielder of his time with an eye for goals. Swallows director, Godfrey Gxowa, confirmed to the Siya crew that Mophosho will be laid to rest this Friday.
"He passed on. He was sick. He passed away two days ago. He will be buried tomorrow (Friday). He was 'top dog'. Swallows have never replaced him in that position until today. He was an impossible player to replace. He was dynamic and superb.
"I think the Bafana Bafana story came too late. He was one of those people who would play this game the way it should be. He was good on the ball.
"I had been with him from the time he joined us in 1973. I can't remember him even receiving a yellow card in all those years. He was here with us for 11 years. Not a single time he was ever yellow carded. That's not because he was soft, but because he was the kind of player that allowed the other players to play. He was not the kind of a player that would tackle other players just to injure them. He was a playmaker, goal scorer and could defend. Even if he wasn't the captain, he led by example.
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"There was a time when we had players with surnames starting with letter 'M'. He was part of that generation. The likes of 'Vader' Mophosho, 'Shakes' Mashaba, Trott Moloto, 'Super' Mofokeng, 'Goal Power' Makhetla, 'Ace' Mnini and 'Congo' Malebane. We are crying for 'Vader'. He has been in and out of hospital. He would be in ICU, be at home for two weeks and back in hospital again, and so on. His funeral service has been scheduled for tomorrow and will be starting from 07h00 to 09h00 at the Methodist Church in Alexandra," said Gxowa.
