Doctor Khumalo

Theophilus Doctorson Khumalo (born 26 June 1967) is a South African former professional soccer player. Popularly nicknamed Doctor for his tactical acumen, he was a renowned midfielder for Kaizer Chiefs and the South African national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers in the history of South African football. After his farewell match for Kaizer Chiefs in 2004, Executive Chairman Kaizer Motaung retired his No. 15 jersey in honour of his legacy and contribution to the club.

Career Having started playing football in 1984 with Swallows Reserves, Khumalo then went to Kaizer Chiefs, where he initially played for the junior team. His father, Eliakim Khumalo, a renowned player of the 1970s and early 1980s, served as his mentor. Khumalo was promoted to the senior team by coach Ted Dumitru the following year, when he started a game against arch rivals Orlando Pirates.

Khumalo went on to become a star player for Kaizer Chiefs and did not play for any other South African football club, only leaving them for short overseas playing periods – he signed with FIFA agent Marcelo Houseman who first took him to Argentinian club Ferro Carril Oeste for six months in 1995, while in 1996 and 1997 he played for the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer.

The high-point of Khumalo's football career was the 1990s; he was part of the Kaizer Chiefs teams that won three South African league championship titles and five knockout trophies and was also voted South African Footballer of the Year in 1992. During his career at the club, he played in a total of 397 league and cup games, scoring 75 goals.

After the re-admission of South Africa to FIFA in 1992, Khumalo was selected to be a member of the South African squad for its first official international match in July of the same year, against Cameroon. South Africa won the match 1–0, due to a penalty scored by Khumalo. He was also a leading member of the winning South African national team at the 1996 African Nations Cup. He also represented South Africa in the 1998 Football World Cup. Throughout his whole international career, he played for South Africa 50 times (twice as captain), scoring nine goals making him the 13th most capped South African footballer.

One of Doctor Khumalo's most memorable games was perhaps the 1996 Mandela Cup match, where South Africa played against Brazil. Phil Masinga scored the first goal from Doctor Khumalo's corner kick. Khumalo then scored the second goal to make the score 2–0 in favour of the South Africans. Unfortunately for Bafana, Brazil came back in the second half, scoring three goals, to win the encounter 3–2.

After retiring from professional football in 2002, Khumalo moved into coaching.

Khumalo was voted 62nd in the Top 100 Great South Africans in 2004.

From 2017 to 2018, he was the technical director of Baroka.

Coaching career He has a SAFA Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 coaching licences, an English Football Association licence which he got in 2005 and a UEFA B licence through the German Football Federation in 2007. He began his coaching career at Kaizer Chiefs, where he served as co-coach with Donald Khuse during the 2002–03 season before becoming an assistant coach under Ted Dumitru. He later moved into youth development, serving as Kaizer Chiefs Under-17 coach before taking charge of the South Africa national under-17 team.

Acting career Khumalo made his film acting debut with the German/South African production Themba. He plays himself as the coach of the under 21s. The movie is about Themba, a young and ambitious football youth, who is faced with poverty, AIDS and violence, but eventually makes his way on to the South African national team. The film is based on a novel by Lutz van Dijk and premiered at the Berlinale 2010.

Career statistics International goals Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Khumalo goal.

Honours Kaizer Chiefs National Soccer League (3): 1989, 1991, 1992 BP Top 8 (6): 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, 2001 Mainstay Cup: 1987 JPS Knockout Cup (2): 1988, 1989 Rothmans Cup (2): 1997, 1998 Bob Save Super Bowl (2): 1992, 2000 Coca-Cola Cup: 2001 African Cup Winners' Cup: 2001

South Africa Africa Cup of Nations: 1996

Individual South African Footballer of the Year: 1992 MLS All-Star: 1996 South African Hall of Fame inductee: 2025