Andre Arendse: Shoes Moshoeu was Unbelievable

On the left we see John Shoes Moshoeu competing with Zinedine Zidane at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France

In a new series, ThisIsFootball.Africa asks the top stars of our football to name the best eleven of teammates that they played with throughout their career. This week we spoke to Bafana Bafana legend Andre Arendse about the best XI he has played with and he started with his best goalkeeper which is himself as well as his defenders.  Now we look at the midfielders that made the Arendse cut and find out why the late Shoes Moshoeu was so unbelievable.

Midfielders

“In a 4-4-2 formation, on my right wing I have David Modise. People don’t realise the impact David had on the old Cape Town Spurs team that won the league and the Bob Save in 1995. He was magic. He never had the pace of a typical winger, but he could make the team play by using his ability and trickery that he turned into creating chances and scoring goals. On the left wing, on this side I went with pace and for me Helman Mkhalele brought that. His speed combined with his crosses alone created a lot of goal scoring opportunities. “

“Of my two central midfielders, the first one would be Eric Tinkler, who is mister reliable, a no-nonsense player. A hard worker who would put the team before everything. He would do nothing fancy but that is what you need at the heart of the team. Then to partner him I would choose John “Shoes” Moshoeu.

Shoes was the attack-minded one, he would get into deeper positions to start attacks, and create chances for the strikers. He could dribble past players with ease. They couldn’t tackle him.  He was super fit and never got injured. He scored goals and he made goals. He could play the ball short; he could play the ball long. An unbelievable player, and teammate at Bafana Bafana.”

Do you agree with Andre Arendse’s midfield selections?

In the next instalment, we take a look at Arendse’s forwards that made his Best XI as we continue to puzzle together his top eleven players, he has played with over his professional football journey.

On the left we see John Shoes Moshoeu competing with Zinedine Zidane at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France
On the left we see John Shoes Moshoeu competing with Zinedine Zidane at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France