Radebe was spotted and signed by the Kaizer Chiefs Football Club as a midfielder. In 1991 he was shot while walking down the street, though he was not critically wounded. The motive for the shooting never became clear, but Radebe himself believes that someone had been hired to shoot him in order to prevent him from moving to another club.
Partially motivated by the shooting incident, Lucas and another South African player, Philemon “Chippa” Masinga, moved to Leeds United in 1994; Radebe was sold by the Kaizer Chiefs for £250,000.
Radebe became a star player for Leeds and was nicknamed “The Chief” by its fans partly due to his previous club and partly his absolute rule in defence. In recognition of his leadership and ability, Radebe was appointed captain of the team for the 1998/99 season.
As captain of Leeds, Radebe was very successful: in the 1998/1999 season, Leeds finished fourth in the FA Premier League qualifying for the UEFA Cup. During the 1999/2000 season, Leeds finished third in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League, reaching the semi-finals. However, in 2000, Radebe sustained knee and ankle injuries, which kept him out of the game for almost two years.
Radebe was first included in the South African national team in 1992 and he made his international debut on 7 July 1992 against Cameroon.
In 1996, he was a member of the South African team that won the African Nations Cup. Radebe was also the captain of the South African national football team (nicknamed the Bafana Bafana) in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and also in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
He earned 70 “caps” for South Africa and scored 2 goals during his international career with his last match being against England on 22 May 2003.
“Organisations such as Grassroot Soccer and Castrol are showing South Africans that soccer is not solely for just playing and entertainment; it can also be a fun and interesting way of teaching the society about the importance of living responsibly so as to prevent HIV/AIDS. Grassroot Soccer is doing a very good job in the realisation of the dangers of AIDS and the fighting against it.”
