In hindsight, he would appear like somebody who could hardly harm a fly, but oh boy!!, just put him on the football field with clear instructions to man-mark marauding strikers and you would see a different person.
Adoring fans used to call him “Okatenda Kozombandje” (Jackal Trap) for his tough-tackling and uncompromised close marking style of play as he would stick to his opposite number like a louse.
Former Chelsea Football Club fullback Dave Ameb was arguably one of the most underrated defenders of his generation despite his near faultless displays in the heart of the much-feared Grootfontein outfit’s rearguard.
Dave formed a close-knit combination with bone-crunching tackler Lazza Auchumeb, Festus Tsantieb, Kid Naobeb and Angolan import Elias Custanova.
Despite his lack of height, he was to form the spine of the dangerous Chelsea side that drove fear into their opponents in the 80’s when the team from the Maize Triangle dominated domestic football – notwithstanding their limited resources.
Quick off the mark, timely tackles and a never-say-die attitude used to be the hallmark of Dave’s spotless football repertoire during an unfortunately abbreviated but highly successful football career.
New Era Sport caught up with the pocket-sized defender as he relates his football journey and finishing on the losing side in two consecutive Mainstay Cup finals, going down controversially against eternal rivals Black Africa.
The Chelsea outfit of the 1980’s was and is still considered by many as arguably the most complete football team ever seen in action in our neck of the woods in those days.
The side was laden with highly gifted athletes led by the quartet of deadly sharpshooters Orlando and Pieces Damaseb and Francis brothers Erich and Tiger.
Add the solid defensive play of Lazza Auchumeb, the Noabeb siblings Ruru and Kid, Dave Ameb, the midfield genius of George Nawatiseb and in later years the versatile lanky Puli Subeb, and you have a team every football coach would desire to be in charge of. While many might argue and rightly so, that Chelsea’s back line was not the most reliable as it would leak in goals at the slightest provocation, the lethality of the notoriously dusty Omulunga outfit’s strike force proved the doubting Thomasses otherwise – putting to bed this debate.
Whether the opposition scored three or four goals, Chelsea’s forwards would always hit back in anger with multiple numbers.
There is an unconfirmed debate that for one to have joined the star-studded Chelsea side one should have been blessed with a decent shot in both feet to fit into the team’s playing philosophy.
Up to this day it’s still hard to tell who could hit the ball the hardest – between the four-pronged strike force of Orlando, Pieces, Tiger and Richo as the quartet possessed different techniques of hitting the target from long range. One of the nauseating ironies of the beautiful game is that praise always goes to the strikers and midfielders for rattling the opposition’s net and delivering telling passes at the expense of those doing the hard work and stopping opponents from getting even – these are the defenders, the unheralded soldiers.
Dave was made to live in the shadows of his more celebrated teammates but statistics would reveal that the pocket-sized fullback will go down in history as one of the most reliable hard-tackling left backs of his generation despite his deceivingly fragile frame.
Born in Grotfonterin on October 15, 1960, Dave started playing street football with boys from the neighbourhood but only rose to prominence when he joined local outfit Spurs FC.
Starting out as a left winger, his blistering speed came in handy as he would show his markers a clean pair of heels while delivering delicious cross-balls for his teammates.
His next stop was the mining town of Arandis in the Erongo Region where his joined local side Rössing Stars before moving to Kuisebmond outfit Explorer Eleven, forming a telepathic partnership with the equally dangerous striker Bandi Namaseb after relocating to the coastal town of Walvis Bay.
After a while, it was time to move on again for the much travelled versatile athlete as he moved to the city of lights Windhoek to join forces with the notorious gold and black strip Dolam outfit, Pirates FC.
In 1981, Dave finally returned to his roots (Grootfontein) and joined local side Chelsea. It was at Chelsea where he was duly converted to the left fullback position. The speedy fullback wasted little time and made the number three jersey his own property.
His arrival at the Omulunga outfit coincided with the club’s sudden turn of good fortunes as Chelsea went on to dominate the domestic football scene unabated, dishing out unbelievable breathtaking performances week in and week out.
His rock-solid defensive play propelled Chelsea to the annual lucrative Mainstay Cup final against the Lucky Boostander-inspired Black Africa at the Windhoek Showgrounds in 1982.
The visitors lost the match via a highly disputed penalty awarded for an apparent foul on BA’s tricky forward Steven Hochobeb, by match referee the late Arnulf Schmidt (Schmidty).
“In all honesty, we were in total control and should have won that match but BA were given a very soft penalty on a platter, which in football terms is referred to as hometown decision.
“Most of the squad members were extremely devastated with the majority of the playing personnel resolving to quit football in its entirety. The team had to restart from scratch and results on the playing field were never going to be the same again since that fateful day,” recalls Dave with a twinkle in his eyes. Despite the setback, Dave got the consolation of representing his native land in the bi-annual South African Provincial Impala Cup in Johannesburg.
The fullback played a big part in steering South West Africa (SWA) to the final of the provincial tourney but was unfortunately unable to feature in the final. Players from Chelsea were deemed ineligible for selection by football authorities following the club’s defection from the National Football League to form the breakaway Namibia National Soccer League (NNSL) in 1985.
As fate would dictate, the speedy fullback finally called it quits in 1990 after battling a series of niggling injuries.
He cites former Black Africa fast-as-lightning striker and internationally acclaimed sprinter Frank Fredericks, African Stars slippery winger Alfred Juku Tjazuko and Black Africa’s lethal goal poacher Croocks Casper as the most difficult opponents he had to mark during his playing days.