Former team-mates have paid tribute to ex-Kaizer Chiefs‚ Dynamos and Pretoria City striker Nicky Shaw who has died.
He was 51.
CAUSE OF DEATH UNKNOWN
The details and cause of Shaw’s death are not yet known.
He was reportedly found dead in his home in Fourways‚ Johannesburg‚ last weekend having celebrated his 51st birthday the Wednesday prior.
Shaw played a season for Chiefs in 1994 under French coach Philippe Troussier‚ having joined Amakhosi after achieving success at Dynamos.
He later went on to play for City.
JAMES SMALL WAS A TEAM-MATE OF SHAW’S
Former Bafana Bafana striker, George Dearnaley, posted his condolences on social media, highlighting the sad truth that three high-profile former team-mates from his Southern Transvaal under-12 team have now died in the past 18 months.
Springbok 1995 Rugby World Cup-winner James Small died of a heart attack in July 2019.
Small was a stand-out soccer player in his youth.
Just five days after Small’s death, former Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United striker Marc Batchelor was shot dead in his car outside his house.
REMINDER OF HOW FRAGILE LIFE IS
The death of Shaw left Dearnaley, who earned three caps for the national team, reeling.
“I sent Nicky a message last week for his birthday to say‚ ‘Happy Birthday old man‚ just a couple of months younger than me.
“That was on Wednesday last week. Then I heard on the weekend that he’d died.
“It’s almost surreal. I was quite depressed about it. Again‚ not that we spoke every week‚ but it’s a part of your childhood. It’s a reminder how fragile life is.
Former Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana legend Neil Tovey also paid tribute to Shaw.
“Nicky was dear to everyone, anyone who came across him could never have said a bad word about him,” Tovey told KickOff.com.
“He gave everything, he gave a 100 percent every match. It’s very sad news, I even knew his father. But Nicky worked hard, trained hard. He could cross the ball very, very well.
