While the football industry in the Land of the Brave (Namibia) is riding the crest of a continental wave of growth driven by the Brave Warriors surge on the Fifa rankings, the country is also feeling the heat with a worrisome number of former players taking a bow from the game of life at an alarming pace.
Death is like an old buddy who keeps following you unconsciously and one day taps you on the shoulder asking: ‘Hi buddy, do you still remember me?’ Well, the moment you turn to look around, you are gone.
History reveals that the forced removal from Windhoek’s Old Location to the slightly modest Katutura location left many of the residents in tatters and homeless in 1968.
Dear readers, my aging fingers are trembling with anger and disbelief as I pen this tribute to a man I personally regarded as a brother, trusted buddy and former teammate.
Just as the football family started to come to terms with the sad passing of football legend Ou /Hurob Zimmer Goreseb, another well-known football personality followed him to his fresh grave.
Doubtlessly one the most colourful footies of his generation, former Tigers Football Club attacker Mario Davids was one hell of a menace for defenders in the country’s topflight league during a three-and-a-half-year spell with the rejuvenated Ingwe.
Well, Yours Truly has been following with an eagle’s eye all the brouhaha about the sudden emergence of football teams from state-owned entities entering the fray.
Should the untold history of Namibian football be told in bold, the name of Theodore ‘Wherrick’ Zimmer-Goreseb, better known as ‘Uerivara’ or ‘Ou /Hurob’, is likely going to feature prominently.
Arguably one of the most accomplished but less talked-about central defenders of his generation, former Botswana Police Eleven, African Stars, Blue Waters, Tigers Football Clubs and Brave Warriors' Ngajozikue Bethuel Mbuende, famously known as “Rasta” in football circles, was your typical modern-day centre-back, never afraid to launch attacks from the back.
Death has struck the football fraternity for the umpteenth time following the shock departure of one of the country’s most recognisable footies, David Fransman, famously known as “Dove” among his vast circle of friends and acquaintances.