Blessing Makunike
Blessing "YoGo-Yogo" Makunike (24 January 1977 – 13 March 2004) was a Zimbabwean international football player.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Blessing Makunike | ||
| Date of birth | 24 January 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Salisbury, Rhodesia | ||
| Date of death | 13 March 2004 (aged 27) | ||
| Place of death | Harare, Zimbabwe | ||
| Position(s) | Central Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Kadoma Wildcats | |||
| 1997–2002 | CAPS United | ||
| 2002–2003 | FK Javor | ||
| 2003–2004 | CAPS United | ||
| National team | |||
| 1998–2001 | Zimbabwe | 8 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Club career
Blessing Makunike started his career in 1997 with Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League club CAPS United F.C., where he played until the end of the 2002 season. Together with his teammate, Leonard Tsipa, he then spent half a season with Serbian club FK Javor, where international Zimbabwean footballer Mike Temwanjera, together with other African players, helped them incorporate into the squad. However, he and Leonard went back to CAPS in the next summer, playing in the second semester of the 2003 Zimbabwean football season.
Car accident
On 13 March 2004, Blessing, together with two other players, Shingirai Alron and Gary Mashoko, and two supporters, burned to death when their car hit the pillar of the bridge and caught fire, the greatest loss of lives in a single incident in Zimbabwean football.[1]
Honours
- Zimbabwe Premier League (1): 2004
- Zimbabwe Cup (3): 1997, 1998, 2004
- Independence Trophy (1): 1997
International career
From 1998 to 2001 he played eight matches for the Zimbabwe national football team having scored one goal.
References
External sources
- Blessing Makunike – FIFA competition record
- Blessing Makunike at National-Football-Teams.com
- "Team profile in Geocities". Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-03.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
- Blessing Makunike at Srbijafudbal.