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Auckland - Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund has sent his condolences to the family of Isaac “Shakes” Kungwane, who died on Wednesday evening after being admitted to hospital.
He was 43.
“It’s such a tragedy. You wake up in the morning to the news that Shakes has passed on,” Igesund said on Thursday morning in Auckland, New Zealand, where Bafana are preparing for an international friendly against the All Whites on Friday.
“On behalf of the Bafana Bafana team, the guys this morning, we all said a prayer for him and for his family.
“We want to give our deepest condolences to his family, friends, his wife, his kids and his brothers and his sisters.”
The former Kaizer Chiefs star, who was also capped by South Africa, played under Igesund at Manning Rangers in 1998, and Igesund said he had fond memories of the charismatic Kungwane.
“He was such a character, he used to give everybody a little bit of stick here and there, but his sense of humour was always something that people could smile about.
“It’s a huge loss to South African football. I had the privilege of coaching Shakes many years ago.
"He loved his food. It was such a big job to keep him off it. I used to say, ‘where are you going now?’ and he'd reply ‘I’m going to buy a hamburger coach’.”
Kungwane went on to become a leading soccer analyst on SuperSport, where he was a regular guest on Monday nights, as well as over weekends, where he would serve on a panel during Premiership pre-match build-up broadcasts.
He is survived by his wife and three children.
