10 Greatest Cult Heroes Who Played For Leeds United

3. Lucas Radebe (1994 - 2005)

Known as 'The Chief', the quiet, unassuming centre back was a pillar of the Leeds United defence for 11 years after his arrival from unknown Kaiser Cheifs in South Africa; famously as an add-on for striker and fellow countryman Philemon Masinga. Legend has it that wily manager Wilkinson pretended to be primarily interested in Masinga and cunningly negotiated the inclusion of Radebe for a combined fee of £250,000, while another story is that Radebe simply came along to prevent Masinga from being homesick. Which ever is true, Radebe gradually became the star find and flourished under Wilkinson's successor George Graham. His consistently solid displays and experience proved invaluable and enabled talented youngsters such as Jonathan Woodgate with the platform needed to learn and develop. He went on to captain South Africa at the 2002 world cup and was described by Nelson Mandela as his "hero". Easy to see why he was such a cult hero for all Leeds United fans too.