Durban - Venezuelan duo Darwin Gonzalez and Juan Carlos Ortiz became the latest South Americans to join the South African Premiership, having signed for Cape Town City and Stellenbosch FC respectively.
South American players have a rich history playing in South Africa which dates back prior to the inception of the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
With that being said, the following are five of the most successful South American exports to play in the PSL in the modern era.
5. Jose Torrealba
The Venezuelan holds the rare distinction for being one of the few players that featured in the Copa America while he was on the books of Sundowns as he did in 2007.
Having initially joined Sundowns in 2005, Torrealba was a hit among South African football fanatics due to his bull-dog-like work-rate and he quickly became a key player for Masandawana.
After leaving Sundowns, Torrealba returned to his native Venezuela with Deportivo Tachira. However, it was not long before he was back in SA with Kaizer Chiefs. His spell with the Glamour Boys was unsuccessful.
4. Eduardo Ferreira
After initially arriving in South Africa with Ajax Cape Town in 2007, Ferreira attracted many fans in South Africa for his ability to attack while playing in defence, so much so that there were strong calls for him to be naturalized so that he could play for Bafana Bafana in the 2010 World Cup.
Ferreira’s strong performances in Cape Town earned him a move to Sundowns but he was unable to emulate the consistency he showed for Ajax at Masandawana. He later had a spell with Mpumalanga Black Aces.
3. Leonardo Castro
Castro initially arrived on South African shores with Sundowns in 2015. He had a successful two years with Masandawana, helping the team to two league titles and the CAF Champions League.
Kaizer Chiefs roped in Castro in 2018 to help them reclaim their glory days. That has not yet happened but it’s not yet too late for the Colombian to deliver for Stuart Baxter’s side.
2. Gaston Sirino
Sirino joined Sundowns in January 2018 and his time with Masandawana has coincided with them totally dominating South African football. He has helped his side win four Premiership titles. Though he is not the most prolific in front of goal, Sirino is a good passer of the ball and has great awareness and intelligence to pick out a team-mate in a goal scoring position. He is an utter headache to most clubs that he plays against when on song.
1.Ricardo Nascimento
If one thing is certain, Nascimento is one of the finest defenders to play in the PSL in the modern era. Like Ferreira, there have also been many who have just wished he could be naturalized to strengthen the Bafana Bafana backline. Now 34-years-old though, it does not appear likely that that will ever happen.
Having joined Sundowns in 2016, Nascimento made Masandawana’s backline the most miserly in South African football. He has helped Sundowns win four league titles and Pitso Mosimane can count himself lucky to have had Nascimento in his team during his prime years.
While he is now nearing the end of his career, Nascimento is still a key leader within the Sundowns dressing room and is an important mentor figure to younger players within the side.
@EshlinV