Date of Birth: 22/07/1991
Place of Birth: Windhoek
Marital Status: Single
Nickname: Jolly
Current Club: Free agent
Previous Club: Cape Umoya FC
Position: Striker
Norrie Kaanjuka, Ricardo Mannetti or Bobby Samaria: Ricardo Mannetti
Jürgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola or Jose Mourinho: Jurgen Klopp
Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo: Lionel Messi
Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates or Mamelodi Sundowns: Kaizer Chiefs
BMW, Mercedes Benz or Audi: Mercedes Benz
Nike, Adidas or Puma: Adidas
PlayStation or Xbox: PlayStation
Career achievements? Being crowned Bidvest Cup champions with African Stars in the 2013/14 season and also being crowed 2014/15 NPL champions with African Stars. Winning the 2015 Cosafa Cup with the Brave Warriors and also scoring against Ivory Coast at last year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), where I was also chosen as one of the top-5 stars from the group stages.
Favourite local or international footballer? Local, it would be Petrus Shitembi – and international, it is my all-time favorite Ronaldinho.
Favourite football club? Manchester United
Your most memorable match? Last year’s Afcon – our match against Ivory Coast.
Biggest career disappointment? My biggest career disappointment was me having left football in 2016 when there was no league to go work at a mine; that was the most difficult decision I had to make – but sometimes, you have to do what you have to do. Obviously, things changed and I started playing again in 2018.
Your steady rise at national team and club levels, especially with Cape Umoya in the GladAfrica Championship, has been widely hailed, with many saying you are destined for greatness. What has kept you at the top over the years? For me, right now, my daughter is what keeps me going and I do all this for her – not for myself. Also, I’m just trying to be the best at what I do: the best in my position. The players in my position, especially in the national team, are really good, so there’s no time for me to relax or to feel I have a definite spot in the national team. At club football, it’s different as a foreign player because you have to be better than the local players to actually be considered. You can’t afford to be average, as the locals don’t like it when foreign players take their spots, so that means I need to keep working hard and remain on top of my game. Also, trying to get out of the GladAfrica league keeps me going.
You also made your Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) debut last year in Egypt and went on to put up a remarkable performance for the Brave Warriors scoring against Ivory Coast. How would you describe that experience? Man, that was the greatest experience of my life thus far. I have always wanted to play for my country since I was a kid, but I honestly never thought I would represent my country at the biggest stage in Africa. I’ve never seen so many cameras and media crews at a stadium before, which was just awesome. My performance at that game [against Ivory Coast] was an emotional one. I knew what I was capable of and all I wanted was a chance. I didn’t even think I would make the final squad – to be honest with you. There was a lot going on, but once I was told I’ll start the next game, I just knew it’s my chance to show what I’m capable of and went on to score my country’s only goal – a priceless moment that was!
With the experience and exposure gained at the 2019 Afcon, how have you grown as a player and as a person? I have grown tremendously, I must say; I had a decision to make for myself, which was either I become cocky because of the goal I scored at Afcon and become an overnight “big player”, or choose to keep that goal as a memory and start working harder than ever to become better and better. When I came back from Afcon to my team [Cape Umoya], I was told the coach didn’t want me – and that was a challenge for me. But I just kept working hard and remained focused on my craft, and I eventually became the club’s top-goal scorer for the season. Nothing can break me!
Over the years, you have been regarded as one of Cape Umoya’s experienced players, how was it settling in when you joined the Cape Town side in 2018? I settled in pretty well, I must say. I didn’t lose my identity and purpose; I knew what I was here for and kept to it. You find a lot of players who lose focus because of the “good life” and they end up doing things out of their character.
Comparing experiences, what does Namibia need to do for football to catch up with the rest of the world? Namibia needs to do a lot. There’s so much that needs to be done. It’s too much to mention in one paragraph… ha ha!
Your ambitions for 2020 and beyond? My ambition is to make it out of South Africa. I like it up North [northern Africa]. I’d love to play there one day.