Delron Sebastian Buckley (born 7 December 1977) is a South African former professional footballer. His preferred position was the left wing although he could also play as a striker. As of September 2021, he has been appointed Head Coach of the University of KwaZulu-Natal soccer team.
 Buckley with Borussia Dortmund in 2007 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Delron Sebastian Buckley | ||
| Date of birth | 7 December 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Durban, South Africa | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1995 | Butcherfille Rovers Durban | ||
| 1995– | VfL Bochum | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| –1998 | VfL Bochum II | ||
| 1995–2004 | VfL Bochum | 177 | (20) |
| 2004–2005 | Arminia Bielefeld | 29 | (15) |
| 2005–2009 | Borussia Dortmund | 59 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | → Basel (loan) | 22 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | Borussia Dortmund II | 2 | (0) |
| 2009 | → Mainz 05 (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | Anorthosis Famagusta | 20 | (2) |
| 2011–2012 | Karlsruher SC | 34 | (2) |
| 2012–2014 | Maritzburg United | 43 | (3) |
| Total | 398 | (45) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998–2012 | South Africa | 73 | (10) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Born in Durban, Buckley's football career began with his local team Butcherfille Rovers Durban. At the age of 17 he was signed by German club VfL Bochum. Buckley spent most of his career in Germany, going through Bochum's youth teams and debuting in the Bundesliga in 1995. Buckley finally broke into the first squad in 1998 and remained a starter for much of his time at Bochum.
Having spent nine professional seasons with Bochum, Buckley left in 2004 for Arminia Bielefeld where he enjoyed his most successful season personally, scoring 15 goals and helping the team avoid relegation. Buckley quickly picked up interest from higher-rated clubs. After only one season at Bielefeld, Buckley joined Borussia Dortmund for a reported transfer fee of €425,000, and signed a four-year contract.
Buckley's first season at Borussia Dortmund was largely unsuccessful as he failed to score in 28 league matches. Widely regarded as bad signing, Buckley was loaned to Swiss club FC Basel 1893 for the 2006–07 season. He played his team debut for Basel on 10 September 2006 as Basel won 2–1 at home against FC Zürich in the St. Jakob-Park.[1] After returning in July 2007, Buckley was able to regain his place in the Borussia squad for the 2007–08 season, but fell out of favour after the arrival of new manager Jürgen Klopp.[2]
In February 2009, he signed for 1. FSV Mainz 05 for the remainder of the season and was released on 30 June 2009.[3] He moved then to Cyprian club Anorthosis Famagusta FC where he played until the end of 2010–11 season.
In January 2011, he transferred to German 2. Bundesliga team Karlsruher SC.
On 26 June 2012, he signed for Maritzburg United, playing for the first time in his career in South Africa.[4]
International career
Buckley made his international debut in a friendly against Zambia on 20 May 1998. He played 73 games and scored 10 goals for the South African national team. Buckley represented his country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2004 African Nations Cup.
Career statistics
- Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Buckley goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 June 2000 | Johann van Riebeeck Stadium, Witbank, South Africa |  Swaziland |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2000 COSAFA Cup |
| 2 | 2–0 | |||||
| 3 | 9 July 2000 | National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe |  Zimbabwe |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 1–0 | |||||
| 5 | 13 January 2001 | Sir Anerood Jugnauth Stadium, Belle Vue, Mauritius |  Mauritius |
1–0 | 1–1 | 2002 African Nations Cup qualification |
| 6 | 27 March 2002 | Lokomotivi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia |  Georgia |
1–2 | 1–4 | Friendly |
| 7 | 12 October 2002 | Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein, South Africa |  Burundi |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2004 African Nations Cup qualification |
| 8 | 4 June 2005 | Estádio da Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde |  Cape Verde |
1–0 | 1–1 | 2006 World Cup qualification |
| 9 | 17 August 2005 | Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland |  Iceland |
1–1 | 1–4 | Friendly |
| 10 | 24 March 2007 | Stade Omnisports Idriss Mahamat Ouya, N'Djamena, Chad |  Chad |
1–0 | 3–0 | 2008 African Nations Cup qualification |
Honours
Borussia Dortmund
References
- ^ Weber, Dominik (2006). "FCB besiegt den FC Zürich mit 2:1". FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2006.
- ^ Delron Buckley at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "Kein Harakiri mit teuren Spielern" (in German). Rhein-Zeitung. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ^ "Buckley, Yende join Maritzburg". kickoff.com. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ^ South Africa - International Matches 1996-2000
- ^ South Africa - International Matches 2001-2005
External links
- Delron Buckley at Soccerway
- Delron Buckley at kicker.de (in German)