Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star – Netflix Review

SENZO: MURDER OF A SOCCER STAR on Netflix is a new true-crime documentary series. There are five episodes, each around 45 minutes long, and it’s one crazy ride. Episode 1 is a bit messy, but so was the crime, so it sets the stage. Read our full Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star review here!

SENZO: MURDER OF A SOCCER STAR is a new Netflix docu-series. Once again, we’re in the true-crime subgenre and this particular crime is a murder in South Africa. The five-part true crime documentary series attempts to do a deep dive into the murder of a beloved soccer star.

You’ll get insight into what actually happened on that fateful evening in 2014 when Senzo Meyiwa. However, be warned, there are a lot of rumors floating around and this docu-series try to cover most. The latest parts of this case are quite recent as you’ll realize from seeing people wearing face masks. Something that wasn’t normal to see when the murder took place.

Continue reading our Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star docu-series review below. You can find all five episodes on Netflix now.

Senzo truly was a soccer star!

The person murdered was the famed soccer player Senzo. Actually, he wasn’t just any soccer player. He was the goalkeeper for the South African national soccer team and its captain. Also, he was playing for one of the leading (and oldest) South African soccer clubs. A club founded in Soweto in 1937 and is now based in the Johannesburg suburb of Houghton.

He had played for “Orlando Pirates FC” (yes, we’re still in South Africa, not Florida) for a decade. In other words, Senzo Meyiwa was a huge soccer star and it did shock South Africans when he was murdered in 2014.

For reference, the FIFA World Cup took place in South Africa just four years earlier in 2010. You’ll probably remember the sound of vuvuzelas from this particular world cup. It became quite the trademark for South Africa during this time!

What really happened?

The real question being covered in the Netflix docu-series Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star is of course: What really happened? The initial story is that Senzo Meyiwa was shot by robbers. They showed up when he was spending time with friends and family at his girlfriend’s house. However, not much seems to make sense.

For one, nothing was stolen and the house seemed to have been cleaned before the police ever arrived. Also, someone supposedly hiding in the bathroom managed to later (wrongly) identify a man as the robber. It’s all quite messy since there are so many rumors and everyone desperately wants to find out who killed their beloved soccer star.

There are five episodes, each around 45 minutes long, and it really is a crazy ride. Episode 1 does feel a bit all over the place. However, to be fair, this true-crime case is all over the place as well, so it makes sense.

Watch Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star on Netflix now!

Sara Blecher is the writer and director of the Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star Netflix documentary series. She is currently filming a new true-crime documentary, so we’ll get more from her. Also, she previously directed quite a few shorts and worked as a producer on documentaries.

Including Who Do You Think You Are? which becomes even more relevant when you later have to cover someone’s life in a docu-series like this one. While this true-crime Netflix series is obviously about the actual crime (a murder in this case), it is also about the person who was murdered. Both to set the stage for what he meant for South Africa and to find the reasons why he was murdered.

Whether you’re a fan of true crime or soccer, you should find something intriguing in Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star. Could it have been shorter? Well, yes, probably. However, there is a lot to cover in a case that spans several years and is so full of rumors and allegations.

Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star is out on Netflix from April 7, 2022.