BORN in Coimbra, the former capital of his native country Portugal in 1945, Jose Lopes arrived in the copper town of Tsumeb aged 14 after his parents relocated to South West Africa (SWA), via Angola, where they had spent two years before moving southwards to settle in Namibia in 1959.
The fairly raw ‘Pikinini’ started his elementary education at the town’s government primary school and despite the oval ball game of rugby enjoying preference among the majority Afrikaner folklore, Lopes would not be swayed in chasing the southpaw slippery ball game, defiantly turning his attention to the beautiful game of football.
Lopes skippered the school’s football team with great success, winning dozens of high profile silverware in the hotly contested inter-schools tourneys staged in the Maize Triangle. His near faultless display drew the attention of talent scouts from Tsumeb Fussbal Klub. Hardly out of his pair of shorts, and without any hesitation, he was thrown into the mix of things and made to swim the deep end, at the tender age of 17.
The explosive Portuguese forward announced his arrival on the big stage with a flurry of well taken match winning goals for the Copper Town outfit, cementing a place in the starting line-up as the main target man. However, it was not long before the forward disembarked from the smooth galloping Copper train, only to resurface in the coastal harbour town of Walvis Bay.
Lopes was shipped to the coastal outfit Atlantis for a then hefty transfer fee of around about 35-pound sterling and a few shillings (N$75,00), the equivalent of the average yearly earnings for indigenous citizens (native Bantu). The new kid on the block formed a deadly partnership with the club’s blue-eyed boy, the late Dieter ‘Steini’ Steinmitz in the firing line.
Regrettably, the lethal net buster only lasted four months with the ‘Seasiders’ as he hurriedly exchanged the freezing weather of the long stretched Atlantic Ocean for the bright lights of Windhoek. The free scoring attacker joined semi-professional outfit Cohen FC, bankrolled by the filthy rich entrepreneurs. Cohen effortlessly forked out R75,00 for his signature but after two seasons with the Jewish owned outfit, Lopes made an unexpected exit from the club retreating to his adopted enclave Tsumeb, and as widely anticipated, the prodigal son rejoined Tsumeb FC. He continued from where he left off, banging in goals. His inevitable presence in the squad rejuvenated the Copper town lads as the club went on an amazing winning spree, clinching all available silverware on offer in the following sequence;
The rout started with flawless victories in the coveted Tuckmantel Floating Trophy (Okahandja), Georges Pokal (Windhoek), the prestigious Hansa Pokal (Swakopmund), Pfaferot Pokal (Tsumeb), Stoesel Pokal (Mariental), Stefans Cup (Otjiwarongo), on top of the League Cup to complete a clean sweep in 1970.
A phenomenal game reader, the versatile ‘footie’ was to the centre back position stopping marauding strikers in their tracks with his trademark well executed tackles, timely interceptions, arrogantly complimented by unbelievable positional play.
Lopes was duly selected to represent his adopted country South West Africa in the prestigious South African Inter-Provincial Currie Cup tournament in 1968. As fate would dictate, Namibian football underwent a facelift with the unavoidable introduction of mixed race football under one unified umbrella body in 1977.
This new development obligated a significant number of Portuguese speaking athletes in Tsumeb to put shoulder to the wheel and form APT FC (Associacao Portuguesa de Tsumeb, translated Portuguese Association Tsumeb).
This recreational entity was interpreted as a powerful tool to preserve the relevance of the minority Portuguese community from that neck of the woods as a sense of belonging. Upon retiring from playing competitive football, Lopes turned his hand to refereeing, officiating high profile matches in the country’s topflight football league, including the breakaway National Soccer Super League (NSSL). A steadfast regular face at the popular biannual Chamber of Commerce Inter-Mines multi-sport games as the designated chief match official, Lopes mentored local outfit Chief Santos in between taking various school children through the ropes in the town, sharpening their football skills. A jack of all trades, Lopes stylishly managed local popular live music performing Portuguese band Improviso.
Cometh the man, cometh the hour, it’s a well-documented secret that Mozambique had given Portugal the great Eusebio da Silva, Cape Verde unleashed Luis Nani, Angola sacrificed Eduardo Camavinga for France. In retrospect, Portugal gently returned the compliment to Africa by giving Jose Lopes to Namibia. Let us cherish the moment and celebrate the life and times of this unsung hero while he is still breathing.