South African skill a common thread through Minnesota soccer history

Nearly 50 years before Minnesota United signed prospect Bongokuhle Hlongwane from so far away, another South African with not quite the same tongue-twisting name came here and planted seeds for soccer in the state.

Patrick Ntsoelengoe starred six seasons for the Minnesota Kicks from 1976-81, in a North American Soccer League that for several fleeting seasons paid the world's most famous soccer names — the great Pele foremost among them — to play in America.

None of them might have been better or a more creative and joyous midfielder than the man whom everybody, including first his father, just called Ace.

Ntsoelengoe (net-so-len-gy) remains a legend back home in South Africa even after his sudden May 2006 death. He played winters there for the famed Kaizer Chiefs and summers in North America.

But he never found the global stardom his Kicks teammates vow he deserved because of his country's apartheid policy that barred its athletic teams from the international stage.

Soft-spoken except with his feet, a jazz lover who played guitar and organ, Ntsoelengoe died of a heart attack in South Africa at age 54.

"I don't know much about him, but I know he is a South African and he played here," said Hlongwane, a 21-year-old forward signed in January who played for the same South African first-division team that Ntsoelengoe once did briefly.

By the time the franchise folded six years later, the Kicks had drawn as many as 49,572 fans to the Twins' sold-out Metropolitan Stadium, packed the parking lot with partying tailgaters and Ntsoelengoe himself scored 50 goals in 155 games played on grass and baseball infield dirt.

Ntsoelengoe twice was named a first-team all star during an 11-year NASL career and was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2003.

He did so with a flair unlike any other on a team comprised mostly of Englishmen and Americans.

"Those were great days," his Kicks goalkeeper and roommate Tino Lettieri said. "Ace was the start for Minnesota getting behind the game. It was new to Minnesota and the crowds were great. I was happy to see the Loons now come in here and spread the game. The atmosphere there is fantastic. I love watching them."

Those six seasons laid the foundation for the Strikers indoor team in the 1980s, the lower-division Minnesota Thunder in the 1990s and the Minnesota Stars of the early 2010s right up to modern-day Minnesota United in MLS and new USL W League women's team Minnesota Aurora.

On Saturday, the Loons play New York City FC at sold-out, 19,400-capacity Allianz Field.

"He's one of the big reasons we have this awesome club and this beautiful stadium," Loons chief soccer officer Manny Lagos said.

Ntsoelengoe also is why Lagos played the same attacking midfield position and wore the same No. 11 jersey that Ntsolengoe did. Lagos played in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, then nine seasons with five MLS teams. He also coached the Stars and United before the franchise's MLS arrival.

The son of a soccer coach, Lagos soon was well aware of a man who played with an imagination that stirred his own, even at a young age. He was five in 1976.

"He was my guy I ended up emulating in the park," Lagos said. "He was why I wanted to play that position, why I wore that number my whole life – 1000 percent because of him. I also was born on June 11, but it really started with me idolizing him."

It was a moment in time for soccer that today would compare to Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Harry Kane all playing in MLS at the same time, Lagos said.

"It's just a shame the rest of the world never got to see him," said Merrick, who came to Minnesota when Ntsoelengoe did, made a life in soccer here and still lives in Lakeville. "He was an unknown factor in the world. He played the game on a different level. It was a pleasure to play alongside him. Nobody touched Ace. If there were any shenanigans, they were quickly dispatched and I enjoyed doing it."

Lettieri's description is more elemental.

"It was like being in the water with the waves," Lettieri said. "If you pushed him, it didn't matter. He could go with the wave and yet the ball was always on his foot. He was so skilled. When he made a pass, it was on your foot, perfect. He read the game so beautifully."

Hlongwane has come along 46 years later, possessing some of the traits Ntsoelengoe and South Africa's best players did long before him. He is Minnesota United's first South African in the MLS era, but several played in its lower-division years. Former Thunder player Godfrey Tenoff researched and recommended the Loons sign the South Africa national team member under MLS' new Under-22 initiative.

Hlongwane has started five of 13 MLS games he has played, has two assists, 19 shots and eight shots on goal, but still seeks his first MLS goal despite many chances.

"You only have to watch the African teams and what stands out is their athleticism and incredible quickness," Loons coach Adrian Heath said. "It's a potent weapon if used properly and that's what we have to do with Bongi. It has been a long while since there has been a South African incredibly successful here. Let's hope Bongi is another one of them."

Bongokuhle has already won over one eight-year-old fan, who approaches pronouncing his name (bong-go-HOOK-le Hluh-ONG-wah-ney) correctly. She met her favorite Loon after Friday's training because "I like his name and his game — and he's always smiling."

Merrick hasn't met Hlongwane, but he sent him a message suggesting Hlongwane adopt one of those nicknames for which soccer is famous.