A proud product of the Roman Catholic St. Theresa Secondary School, holed up in Tses, a tiny village town sandwiched between Mariental and Keetmanshoop, in the southern part of the country, Allu Hummel was a polished diamond.
The Mariental-born afro-haired lad arrived in the city of bright lights, Windhoek, in the mid-70s to join forces with Katutura giants Orlando Pirates alongside school buddies Killer Kamberipa, Bullet Hansen and dribbling wizard Norries Goraseb. His much-hyped stint at Pirates coincided with the club’s unavoidable rebuilding process, with a significant number of new faces thrown into the mix.
Some of his celebrated teammates were Evergreen Lemmy Narib, Erich Muinjo, Erich Michael Pienaar Snr, Doc Hardley, Steve Stephanus, Dokes Hange, Ambrossius Vyff, Lewa Awaseb, Tsotsie Afrikaner, ‘Ou Rudge’ Noariseb, ‘Momina’ Gurirab and Fly Damaseb.
Playing upfront, Allu announced his arrival at the big stage with a flurry of well-taken goals much to the delight of the usually hard to please Ghosts. He won the hearts and admiration of many football followers with his unique style of play. Allu could easily slot into any position on the field without having to shed an ounce of sweat except between the sticks.
He would go on to win multiple major titles with Pirates, including double victories in the Mainstay Cup in 1978 and 1979, respectively.
Allu became a much sought-after commodity in the domestic set up. When coastal outfit Blue Waters came knocking on the door dangling a juicy carrot in baby face for his precious signature with the prospect of decent employment opportunity in the booming fishing industry, Allu had no hesitation jumping off the smooth sailing Buccaneers ship.
However, after few eye-catching displays for the Birds, the versatile defender could no longer sustain the brutally freezing weather of the giant Atlantic Ocean.
The bearded defender retreated to his adopted habitat to rejoin Pirates. The prodigal son continued from where he left off dishing out impressive displays week in and week out for the Buccaneers.
Allu represented his motherland in the prestigious South African Inter Provincial Currie Cup in neighboring South Africa on several occasions. He won a gold medal, courtesy of the South African Inter-Provincial Impala Cup in 1986, certainly no mean feat.
The versatile defender tasted professional football when he was signed by Soweto giants Orlando Pirates. Regrettably, like many of his compatriots cowardly advanced homesickness, punctuated by lack of character and guts, hastened his quicker-than-expected return to his native land without having made any significant impact on the tough and demanding trade of professional football. Surprisingly, Allu sent shockwaves amongst the Ghosts diehards when he crossed the floor to join archrivals African Stars in 1984.
The pop star look-alike ‘footie’ announced his arrival with breathtaking performances, propelling the Reds to victory in the Mainstay Cup final against former employers Blue Wasters in a tightly contested final at the Windhoek stadium. Stars won 1-0 via Oscar Mengo’s, Diego Maradona mimicked ‘Hand of God’ headed goal. His on and off romance with Pirates was reignited again when he rejoined the black and white stripe outfit for the umpteenth time, only to jump ship again.
This time, Allu found refuge with ambitious Pioneers Park outfit Ramblers, campaigning in the SWAFA backed Amateur Soccer Association (ASA) League, alongside former Pirates teammate Erich Muinjo. Younger brother of the football playing Hummel siblings Stoeier, Foenie, Pius and kid brother Browny, and uncle of retired Brave Warriors strongly-built defender George Hummel, Allu will go down in history as one of the most accomplished and well-decorated footballers of all time.
His equally talented daughter Stephanie Hummel, a valuable member of the Brave Gladiators squad, predeceased him in 2019.
May their combined souls rest in eternal peace in one piece.