Bafana Bafana applaud their fans after victory (Allsport)

By Neal Collins

And now South Africa, you will need your talisman more than ever before.

Make no mistake, Lucas Radebe, miracle man and general good guy, holds the key to Bafana Bafana's survival hopes at the 2002 World Cup finals.

At 33, after a list of knee, ankle and concussion injuries too numerous to list outside a telephone directory, Radebe is the colossus who must stand tall in the middle of the South African defence against Spain at Daejeon on Wednesday.

A clean sheet there will ensure qualification for round two. Anything less will, in my opinion, see Jomo Sono's brave boys bow out of the competition on goal difference.

South African coach Jomo Sono, who has done so much to lift morale after the departure of Manchester United-bound Carlos Quieros, knows Paraguay are no mugs. And the Latin Americans only need to score two goals more than Slovenia –  a side who were mentally already on the plane home before their defeat in Daegu - to ensure they will go through behind Spain and into the last 16.

That means South Africa MUST gain a point against the mighty Spaniards, the first side to qualify for round two at this World Cup.

Radebe, the former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder signed by Howard Wilkinson at Leeds as a makeweight to encourage his striking compatriot Philemon Masinga to make the move to England back in 1994, has long been considered Africa's greatest defender.

It was the astute Scotsman George Graham who spotted his remarkable talent for man-marking when he took over from Wilkinson at Leeds.

And Radebe, forced to tuck in at the middle of a shakey Elland Road defence eight years ago, has never looked back.

He led South Africa to the 1996 African Nations Cup triumph, captained them to a defeat and two draws at the World Cup in France 98 and was the first man offered a long-term contract when David O'Leary took over as coach that year. When Italian giants Roma came calling, O'Leary famously said: "Lucas should be set in stone and never allowed to leave this club!"

He didn't. But disaster struck. The knees which have haunted him ever since his 30th birthday appeared to have finally given up the unequal struggle last season.

Radebe didn't play a game in what became a disastrous winter for Leeds.

The captain's armband was quietly passed to £18m record signing Rio Ferdinand and "The Chief" as O'Leary calls him, found himself on the verge of quitting football.

A series of comebacks in the reserves ended in locked joints and heartbreak. But then came a late rally. An appearance in a testimonial was followed by two reserve games and a run out for South Africa against Madagascar in Durban.

The knees weren't nobbled, the head remained cool, Radebe was back.

Our faith in medical science was restored.

Incredibly, after a season spent on the treatment table, Radebe returned to take the captain's armband and his rightful place in the South African side, where he is the only survivor of the first post-Apartheid match against Cameroon in July 1992.

Now the proud owner of 67 international caps (and just one international goal, but he can safely leave that to Siyabonga Nomvete's goal-scoring knees), "The Chief", known as "Rhoo" in his own country, was imperious against the sloppy Slovenians.

Quite why the former Yugoslav republic bothered to turn up and annoy their manager Srecko Katanec, it's hard to say. Certainly the tiny nation has talent, as they showed in reaching the last eight of the 2000 European Championship.

But Katanec sent his best player Zlatko Zahovic home after a bleeping great argument last week and spent most of the game losing his temper before being banished to the stands by partially deafened officials.

Katenec's players, perhaps aware that their home nation is more interested in ice hockey, basketball and skiing, played the kind of football which went downhill even faster than their winter Olympic team.

But through it all, Radebe - harshly booked - held firm. As he must in Daejeon on Wednesday.

The loss of Watford's out-of-favour own goal specialist Pierre Issa is no major problem – Aaron Makoena looks a more than adequate replacement.

And with Andre Arendse showing a clean pair of gloves, even Spain might struggle to find a route to goal next week.

The prospect doesn't worry Radebe, who grew up in Soweto when the sprawling township outside Johannesburg, when things were tough for a family of 11 .

"It's terrific," was his to-the-point verdict after South Africa's first World Cup win.

And wouldn't it be terrific to see the "Jomo Jig" again - this time against the spectacular Spaniards.

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