Biological offspring of the iconic late Damara Gaob Dawid Goreseb, ‘Bro Zombies’ was destined for greatness ever since he was a snot neus ‘Pikinini’ at the Catholic Mission Primary School in Usakos, holed up in the mountainous Erongo region. His old man Paramount Chief of the Damara ethnic group, the multilingual Gaob Goreseb, an organic...
Author: Carlos Kambaekwa (Carlos Kambaekwa )
Tales of the Legends – In the jungle with the indomitable ‘Onamungudo Lion’ Itope-Kauluma aka ‘Makatchaka’
Born Johannes Kauluma on 9 June 1966 in Ondjondjo/Oluno on the outskirts of Ondangwa, he was adopted by foster parents. He grew up in the coastal harbour town of Walvis Bay. Interestingly, his foster mother was the old lady of the football-playing siblings Ronnie Kanalelo, Shindere and Salathiel ‘Stimela’ Ndjao. It was obvious that he...
Tales of the Legends – The positive influence of sport in the life and times of ‘Manni’ Goldbeck
“We had a lot of free time on our hands, and there was not much going on, so we resolved to play football inside the school hall. Many happy hours were spent engaging in small games kicking around between the boys. My passion for football and sport in general was born right there which culminated...
Tales of the Legends – The ruthless ‘Portuguese Hawk’ Jose Lopes
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...
Tales of the Legends – In conversation with Spurs’ almost forgotten midfield genius … Edward ‘Fadiga’ Asino
One of very few sport entities not birthed along ethnic lines, youthful Soweto outfit Hotspurs Football Club set the domestic football scene alight with their exciting style of one-touch, carpet football that kept spectators on the edge of their seats. Like many other newly-established football clubs, Spurs started life in the country’s lower-tier divisions, and...
Tales of the Legends – The life and times of a multi-talented athlete Egbert ‘Hoffy’ Hoff
Born in Otjiwarongo in 1961, Egbert Hoff was raised in Windhoek, and schooled at the revered Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek (DHPS), an upmarket learning institution primarily tailored to take German-speaking ‘Pikininis’ through the ropes in Academia. ‘Hoffy’ started kicking a football at the age of 10 for the school team but only got to play...
Tales of the Legends – Bidding farewell to ‘Sweet Sammy’, the ‘Panthera tigris’: RIP – Sam ‘Mitou’ Salomo-Emvula 1962 – 2024
Like many of his peers, Sam Salomo-Emvula started his football career in the lower division with exciting youthful outfit Golden Rivers Football Club, an unofficial feeder team for the already well-established big brother ‘Ingwe-Inyama’. The team was loaded with an avalanche of talent way beyond imagination, and though Emvula was not amongst the club’s...
Tales of the Legends – At long last, justice finally served for ‘forgotten’ football guru ‘Uncle Bob’ rightfully recognised in the most dignified fashion
Well, many were always under the misplaced impression that the football-crazy Sissing was an intruding immigrant from Cape Town (‘Kaapnaar’). But truth be told, the long-haired hippy-look-like defender was a pure-born and bred Namibian, birthed in the southern capital Keetmanshoop in 1942. The early life ‘Uncle Bob’ spent a significant slice of his formative years...
Tales of the Legends – In deep conversation with Bethlehem’s main ‘Langana’ Terence ‘Papie’ Isaacs aka ‘Pele’
Born Terence Samuel Isaacs, aka ‘Papie’, in Windhoek on the 4 February 1968, his incredible football journey was totally different from other young boys who kick-started their careers playing street football. A proud product of Bethlehem, a slightly lesser affluent residential section holed up West of Khomasdal, specifically designed to accommodate a mixture of slightly...
Tales of the Legends – Under the boardwalk, down by the sea: Ernest Uiisanua Cosky Ngaizuvare
Born in the historical garden town Okahandja on 7 November 1946, Cosky Ngaizuvare was groomed and carefully shaped for the big stage at Windhoek’s old location where the theme was ‘Survival of the Toughest’. The strongly built young midfielder was a prominent squad member of African Stars second generation. Alumni of the Rhenisch Herero School,...