Respectfully, the fairytale story of Wolfgang Wuensch is a very interesting one, so to speak. The young lad had to navigate his way through a thorny journey before finding refuge in South West Africa (SWA) (‘Kleine Deutschland’) far away from his then native war ravaged Czechoslovakia. Born in the city of Bronn, on the 30th...
Born and bred in the lavish coastal holiday hub Swakopmund on 25 January 1956, ‘Holli’ Gruttemeyer started his elementary education in his hometown before earning his school-leaving certificate from the revered Swakopmund Secondary School. Like many ‘Pikininis’ his age of German descent, ‘Holli’ was football-crazy and would play the game at the slightest provocation. Such...
If you happened to reside in Windhoek’s Old Location back in the day, one would be labelled a ‘moegoe’ and in dire need of refinement if you have not rubbed shoulders with some of the ‘Langanas’ in the hood. Fearless blokes Ignatius Mbapeua ‘Mazola’ Katataiza, ‘Ou Windhoek’, Apostoli, Vetamunisa ‘Fusi’ Keimuine, Khoatis and a few...
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...
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...
“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...
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...
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...
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...
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...