Obituary: Kito 'Ten-Ten' Nzimande, football wizard who was also Kaizer Chiefs' hardman

Kito Petrus "Ten-Ten" Nzimande, who has died in Durban at the age of 69, was the hardman of South African football in the '60s and '70s.

He was the archetypal strong, silent type. A man of few words but meaningful action. He was as tough as they came in a tough era when referees had a rather laissez-faire attitude to the rough stuff. This meant they turned a blind eye to much of it.

Teams were expected to look after themselves. They were lucky indeed if they could attract the services of someone like Nzimande. Not many could because he was one of a kind.

"He was as strong as an ox," remembers former teammate Bizzah Dlamini. "He was the kind of player a team needs when the chips are down."

An important part of his job was to protect his teammates. If one of them was the unfortunate recipient of a "hit" by an opposing player - as was often the case - then Nzimande would quietly but firmly sort it out. This applied off the field as well.

This was how he got the nickname "Ten-Ten": because he was there for 10 players, his teammates knew they could count on him.

But his skills went beyond enforcement. A defensive midfielder who could also play as a centre-back, when he had the ball he was capable of crowd-pleasing wizardry. He was a good header and scored regularly in this manner. His imposing physical presence helped.

In 1969 he was recruited by Bomber Chamani to join the newly formed Kaizer XI which was started by Kaizer Motaung when Motaung returned from the US where he had been playing for Atlanta City Chiefs. Later, of course, the Kaizer XI became Kaizer Chiefs.

At first this was less a conventional club than a group of acknowledged masters brought together under Motaung's auspices to form what was confidently regarded - by him and his allies, certainly - as the best team in the country.

Many being from Orlando Pirates, this was in effect a breakaway from the mother body. And a highly acrimonious one at that.

They faced each other 17 days later, on January 24 1970, in the first Soweto Derby.

Both sides had a point to prove and the tension between them was electric. No quarter was asked or given.

It didn't begin auspiciously for Nzimande. He earned the wrath of the packed crowd when the ball deflected off his head into his own net. All was quickly forgiven when eventually he put the ball into the back of the right net. This didn't save Amakhosi from going down to the Buccaneers 6-4, but Nzimande's status as one of South Africa's footballing heroes was close to being sealed by the time he walked off the pitch.

He was part of the side that won Chiefs' first league title in 1974. During his reign at Chiefs from 1970 to 1978 they won nine cups. The ones he remembered best many years later were the Sales House Cup (Chiefs v AmaZulu) in 1972 and the Chevrolet Cup (Chiefs v Hellenic, at a time when black and white teams began to play one another during apartheid), in 1975.

He was made captain in 1975 and was captain during the era of the National Professional Soccer League.

He left in 1978 after Chiefs co-founder and ace marketer Ewert "The Lip" Nene was knifed to death while trying to recruit star striker Teenage Dladla.

Nzimande was born in the informal settlement area of Mkhumbane next to Cato Manor in Durban on May 26 1947.

He attended Isibonelo High School in KwaMashu. At the age of 12 he began playing for Mooi River Hungry Vultures.

At 15 he joined the African Wanderers Football Club where, over the next six years, his physical strength and hard tackling became famous and attracted the attention of Motaung's scouts.

It was while playing for African Wanderers that he made a name for himself as a tough midfielder who, in the words of a teammate, "made destroying an opposition attack look as easy as taking candy from a kid".

It was no surprise when Motaung scout Chamani came knocking in 1969.

After hanging up his boots, Nzimande coached Bloemfontein Celtic and his old team African Wanderers.

He died after suffering a stroke from which he never recovered.

He is survived by his partner, Dudu Cele, and five children.

1947-2016