13 countries with one goalscorer in PSL history..
Details on players who are the only ones from their nation to score a goal in the PSL
It’s the international break, so this will be a short one.
In the spirit of international football (and in the midst of an ongoing battle with player names, nationalities and appearances - it’s Dillan Solomons, not Dillon Solomons Jabu), something popped up as a worthy story idea - countries that have only seen one player score a goal for them in the PSL. First off some context:
16,335 - Goals scored in the PSL (league only)
28 - PSL seasons played so far (average 584 goals a season)
1962 - different players that have scored in the PSL (would be nice to reach 2024 players this year haha)
61 - different countries represented among PSL goalscorers
1429 - different South African born-players that have scored a league goal (73% of all scorers)
535 - non-South African born-players that have scored a league goal (27%)
92 - players from Zimbabwe that have scored a PSL goal (5% - the most non-SAn scorers are from Zim ). Then Zambia, Nigeria, Malawi etc. [Cool Quiz question]
71 - goals with no nationality accounted for (0.4% of all goals scored)
13 - players that are the only PSL goalscorer from their nation.
That’s the brief newsletter today. And here are the PSL ambassadors to the 13 countries. i.e Which countries have had just one player score a goal in the PSL? (in alphabeltical order)
1. Australia - Matthew Sim
Of the 16k+ goals scored in the PSL, only one has come off an Australian’s boot. Mat Sim scored for Cape Town City in a 1-1 draw v Kaizer Chiefs in November 2016. (NB: we counted Kearyn Baccus as South African - born in Durban).
2. Austria - Roland Putsche
Another one for The Citizens in Roland Putsche. The Austrian was born in Klagenfurt, Austria and scored nine times for City in the league. He is the only Austrian-born player to net in the PSL in history.
3. Belgium - Andrea Fileccia
Belgium’s only PSL scorer found the net 15 times in league matches. His goals were almost equally split between Free State Stars (7) and Maritzburg United (8).
4. Chile - Marcelo Allende
Yep, that one. Chile is represented by current Sundowns maestro Marcelo Allende. Jorge Acuna appeared before him in Sundowns colours, but never scored.
5. Egypt - Amr Gamal
13 games, 2 goals for Amr Gamal, all in the space of three days. Egypt’s goalscoring relationship with the PSL was brief, but stands out.
6. Georgia - Giorgi Nergadze
Born in Tskhaltubo, Georgia, the (almost) similar named Georgian Giorgi spent five seasons in the PSL at Moroka Swallows & Wits, and scored seven goals all for the Dube Dirds.
7. Japan - Norikazu Murakami
Between October and December 2009, four goals were scored by Japanese Norikazu Murakami for Platinum Stars. His goals were worth 7 points, without which Stars would have finished bottom of the table (they finished in 14th). Fair to say, Japan’s sole representative among PSL scorers had a hand in history.
8. Liberia - Toni Laffor
With 62 league goals, Anthony Laffor is the highest scoring solo scorer in PSL history. His incredible goalscoring exploits have seen a few more Liberians come play in the PSL, but none have ever scored.
9. Madagascar - Andriamirado Andrianarimanana
One long name. One goal. One transfer ban. The only Madagascan player to score in the PSL left a lasting legacy. Dax.
10. Morocco - Noahn Sadaoui
Came on in the 74th minute. Scored a penalty 10 minutes later. He only played less than an hour in the league and left a mark as Morocco’s one and only goalscorer in the PSL, with that one penalty goal.
11. Slovakia - Pavol Safranko
More than one Slovak has played in the PSL, but only one has scored a league goal on our shores. Born in Svidnik, Slovakia in November 1994, Safranko scored five league goals for Sundowns before moving to Romania two years ago.
12. Suriname - Marciano Vink
Born in Paramaribo, Suriname, Vink Marciano once scored for Ajax v Hellenic in November 2001. He has Dutch links (man even played with Edgar Davids, Dennis Bergkamp and the De Boer brothers), but was born in Suriname, which according to Wikipedia, is a country in northern South America, sometimes considered part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. (this is one of those instances where WIKI is a good source - hint: never use Wikipedia for PSL stats).
13. Wales - Phillip Evans
Is there a name as Welsh as Phillip Evans? 12 goals in the PSL can be traced back to Cardiff Wales, and to the Evans family home alone. No other.
BONUS- George Koumantarakis
From a 10 million population, only one Greece-born player ever scored a goal in the PSL. George Koumantarakis is one of thsose “streets will never forget” strikers who played the first ever day in the PSL (9 August 1996) & ended that season with 17 league goals, missing just one game. Koumantarakis was born in Greece, but represented Bafana at international level.
That’s all folks. Should you ever end up in any of these countries, ask the locals if they know the status of these legends.
Marciano Vink (in Ajax Amsterdam colours)