BACK in the day, St Joseph’s Secondary School, the unofficial school of excellence (football-wise), famously known as Döbra, unearthed a significant number of great athletes that went on to establish themselves as big names in the domestic flagship football league, while a few others found refuge in the paid ranks in neighbouring South Africa.
The likes of Pius ‘Garrincha’ Eigowab, Joseph ‘Malaka’ Somseb, and Hannes Louw all played professional football for leading South African clubs. So, it was not surprising that the entire Black Africa starting line-up for their historic Dave’s Furnishers Cup final against bitter rivals African Stars was made up of Döbra’s proteges
Among those representing Döbra, with a great measure of pride and success, was a tallish and agile light-skin shot stopper, going by the name of Hubert Mootseng, arguably one of the finest net guards of his otherwise abbreviated tenure.
Well, after numerous failed attempts to corner and put one past the now happily retired goalie with a safe pair of hands, New Era Sport finally caught up with the friendly Dobra protégé as he relives his amazing football journey between the sticks.
Many former athletes to whom the beautiful game of football owes a huge debt of gratitude deserve some kind of acknowledgement and praise. Regrettably, some of these unheralded heroes and heroines have gone the way of all flesh.
Sadly, others are still wandering around, resembling the sight of yesterday's garbage, sometimes not even knowing where their next piece of bread would come from. Indeed, this is a very sad chapter. Nonetheless, a few others also made it big, demonstrating there is life after football.
One of those lucky ones is none other than former Döbra and Black Africa acrobatic goalkeeper Hubert Mootseng. Born in the eastern capital city of Gobabis on 17 May 1950, the now-retired Namibian Police Commissioner started his short-lived football career with Tigers Football Club as a speedy forward.
™Eish. In those days, the apartheid system didn't have a proper education system for Setswana-speaking children. As a result, we were placed at the Roman Catholic Bonifacius and St. Andrews Primary Schools. It was claimed that there were no tutors for Batswana kids. We were staying in the Owambo location at Windhoek's old location after my family was forcefully relocated there, from Klein Windhoek, so I was obligated to play for Tigers,∫ he explained.
Upon completion of his elementary education, young Hubert went to St. Joseph's Secondary School to further his academic aspirations. He joined inter-hostel team Black Negros before punching his way up the ranks and cementing himself as the number one goalkeeper for the school's star-studded football team, playing alongside a galaxy of promising footballers.
Some of his celebrated teammates at Negros were Ambrossius Vyff, the late trident of Five Hochobeb, Patrick Tibinyane, and Hassie Mingeri. What transpired was that both Döbra's first and second teams reached the final of a knockout cup final in Windhoek.
™The goalie for the second string got injured, while the first-choice net-guard for the first team, Ludwig Katjipu, had to leave for further studies in South Africa. I was asked to man the sticks, and I played blinder. After the match, our coach, Meester Willem Hans, suggested that I start taking goalkeeping seriously,∫ he said.
Hubert was drafted to the school's first team and he never looked back.
After some breathtaking displays between the sticks for the school's football team, Katutura giants Black Africa Football Club came knocking at the door for his precious signature, and as they say, the rest is history.
The acrobatic goalie was stationed between the sticks when Black Africa confronted arch-rivals African Stars in the historic Dave's Furnishers Cup final at the packed-to-rafters Katutura stadium in 1975. The five-goal thriller produced sparks, with action swinging from end to end.
Tellingly, Döbra had a strong representation on the field on that particular day, with Stars also fielding a few of their own Döbra products in the shape of the hastily imported Oscar Mengo from Kaizer Chiefs, Ben Kauejao, Albert Karumbu Kahiha, and young Albert Veziruapi Tjihero, in the mix of things.
Interestingly, both Mengo and Eigowab were flown in from Johannesburg, South Africa, as guest players from the parent team Kaizer Chiefs, and their pro status temporarily waved. The match carried a hefty prize of N$1 000 in cash, the first of its kind in the history of Namibian football.
Hubert was amazing between the sticks on that particular day but could unfortunately not stop the Reds from coming out on top in the thrilling encounter where no quarter was asked or given. Going into the match as underdogs, the fired-up `Starlile' won 3-2 after a goal apiece from Manfred `Bush' Menjengua, Kauejao, and Kahiha, while Eigowab and Hochobeb replied for Black Africa.
After leaving school, he left for South Africa. His impressive display between the sticks caught the eyes of talent scouts from leading professional clubs such as Kaizer Chiefs, Moroka Swallows, and a few others, all circling like starving vultures over the agile Namibian goalie.
Upon completion of his police training, South African police authorities dangled a juicy carrot in Hubert's baby face, trying to entice him to remain behind in South Africa, where he could sign a professional contract with one of his pursuers, but the Namibian flatly declined the lucrative offer. He came back to his native land and rejoined Black Africa, starting from where he left off. ™I was in great form and much improved because of the good goal-keeping training in South Africa,∫ he said.
Unfortunately, his promising football career came to an abrupt end after a career-ending injury. Hubert suffered a serious facial injury to his right eye socket that left him partly blind, thus bringing to a halt any further interest in the game.
Following his premature retirement, Black Africa struggled to find a suitable replacement for the acrobatic Mootseng, and even though the team did fairly well in the other departments, it was not until the arrival of Ronnie Kanalelo that Black Africa finally boasted a decent last man of defence close to the quality of the retired Mootseng.
A proud holder of an LLB from Unisa, Hubert also read towards a master's degree at Unam with a pending dissertation. In his parting shot, the retired goalie expressed dismay at the ongoing squabbles at his former club, BA, sending a strong warning to those trying to undermine the filthy-rich history of the institution.
™We are the real owners of Black Africa and will not sit idle watching our treasured asset go down the drain just because of a few hotheads. Plans are afoot to introduce attainable measures aimed at hastening the quick return of the team to its rightful place in the folklore of domestic football, the country's flagship league, in the next two years, by God's grace∫.