Former Bafana Bafana midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi has revealed how Premier League outfit Fulham spotted him when he was still plying his trade at Golden Arrows.
Dikgacoi was one of the promising youngsters and a standout player for Arrows but joining the Premier League club straight from Arrows was perhaps a shock to many.
KG, as he is affectionately known as in the football circles says the Cottagers; Fulham spotted him when he featured in a Bafana international friendly clash against Australia which took place in London in 2008.
In the same year, a two week trial was then bestowed upon him by Fulham, who completed Dikgacoi’s signing in the following year in 2009 when he was 24 years old.
HOW FULHAM SPOTTED DIKGACOI
“Many people think you will [only] be spotted by European teams when you play for big teams in South Africa,” he told FARPost.
“However, I got spotted when we were playing for Bafana against Australia in London in 2008.
“I got invited by Fulham to train with them for two weeks, I then impressed them but I couldn’t sign at the time because of the Visa and other aspects. There was a programme that I had to follow.
“I joined in 2009 but I think they had already concluded everything.”
In 2011, the Brandfort-born midfielder was loaned to Crystal Palace, who were featuring in the Championship at the time.
HELPING CRYSTAL PALACE TO SECURE PREMIER LEAGUE PROMOTION
Palace signed him permanently after a six-month loan and he played an integral part in the London-based club’s promotion to the Premier League in 2013.
Dikgacoi turned down Palace’s contract extension in 2014 to join Cardiff City in the Championship where he played two years prior to his return to Arrows in 2016.
He retired in 2018 at the age of 33 and now serves as a head coach of Mangaung Unite FC in the Free State’s ABC Motsepe League.
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