It’s becoming an extremely worrisome global phenomenon to witness retired athletes, especially footballers falling from grace upon retirement from the game that made them instant cult heroes. Constant failure to handle fame has landed many talented athletes in hot water with their respective clubs, as dozens of highly gifted athletes tend to be in the habit of developing heads the size of the moon, while putting personal interests ahead of club commitments. Internationally acclaimed athletes such as the legendary George Best, Jabu ‘Shuffle’ Mahlangu, Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne, Stan Collymore and a number of very naughty boys from our neck of the woods, who have demonstrated immense talent during the height of their sporting careers, never managed to live their dream and unleash their full potential. In spite of her relatively small population, Namibia has produced a significant number of great athletes who have gone out to put the country on the global map as great ambassadors in different sporting disciplines abroad over the years. Frank Fredericks, Harry Simon, Collin Benjamin, Andre Stoop, Trevor Dodds, Paulus Ambunda, Slice Ouseb, Schalkie van der Merwe, Paulus Moses and Jacques Burger are among those who have reached great heights in the international sporting arena setting the benchmark.
Back home, a significant number of highly gifted athletes continue their self-destructive paths by allowing fame to go to their heads, thus sinking to their lowest depths in their misplaced line of thinking that they are bigger than the game. In today’s edition of our weekly feature, Tales of the Legends, New Era Sports relates the sad and pathetic story of a former footballer and schoolteacher who once had the world at his feet, but has now become a victim of his own doings.
WINDHOEK – Without an iota of doubt, former Saint Josephs Secondary School (Döbra) and Flames Football Club multi-talented midfielder, Alexander Ndjahera, also known as Sandro in football circles was one of the greatest footballers of his era to emerge from Omaruru in the Erongo Region. The nimble-footed ball-juggling attacking midfielder, who played as if the ball was glued to his feet and could shoot from any distance using both feet with equal virtuosity, was a product of Döbra, where highly gifted footballers were polished to perfection. However, it was not all soft paddling for the talented midfielder as he ambled from one farm to the other during his younger days until he was taken under the wing of Frater Nakel at the Roman Catholic Mission School. Since both his parents were workers at the Waldfrieden Primary School near Omaruru, young Alex was enrolled at the all-girls boarding school before he found himself at Goas Primary School for boys, another Catholic learning institution in the Erongo Region near Karibib. “I was placed under the care of teacher Rudolph Kangootui and it was very easy to settle in with the setup, since most of the learners I found there were from the nearby farms where we all hailed from.”
It was indeed at Goas where Alex started juggling a tennis ball and soon captured the imagination of his newly found buddies, who took a liking to his amazing ball skills. “We used to compete in small games against fellow learners. The competition was very tough, because there were many talented footballers who came from Windhoek, Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, among them, Alacatz Kurivera, Johannes Gawab and Bobby Kazondandona,” recalls Alex. His quick eye and fine footwork drew the admiration of other boys upon his arrival at the St Josephs Secondary School, Döbra – leading to immediate recruitment to feature for school club London City, where he played alongside the legendary Anton ‘Stouter’ Ochurub.
The competition was fierce with most of the newcomers striving to catch the eye of the selectors with the ultimate aim to be included in the school teams. “There were six equally strong football clubs at the school and I must have impressed in my first couple of matches, because in only my first year at school I was selected for the school’s second strings, which I must admit was a great achievement and honour.” His impressive performance was finally rewarded with promotion to the first team where he found himself surrounded by local football greats, such as Albert Tjihero, Blue Karimbue, Max Johnson, Albert Kahiha, Samani Kamerika, Erich Lamberth, Frans Mupupa, Lewa Awaseb, George Martin, Garab Gariseb and Stu Damaseb amongst a galaxy of stars. It was not long before ambitious Katutura football club Flames came knocking at his door looking for the services of the nimble-footed footballer. Alex did not need a second invitation and jumped at the opportunity to join forces with the green and gold outfit where he became an instant hit with the club’s management and team mates.
In the absence of proper league structures in those days, many footballers were roaming around as free agents and would feature for any team of their choice at any given time. Alex was no exception to this unwritten rule and would alternate between his hometown team – Scorpions (Omaruru) and Kuisebmund outfit Red Fire (Walvis Bay) during the school holidays. And at the peak of his football career, he continued to terrorize defenders with his dribbling skills and amazing strong runs down the flank for the star-studded Döbra team that made him a household name in local football circles. A chip from the old block, there was another side to the multi-talented Alex. When he was not on the football field juggling a football or in the classroom paging through books – the brother would be seen strumming the guitar with the school’s band CCR, with the late folk singer Pius Gaeb in its lineup. “I learned and mastered the instrument (guitar) during my formative years on the farms in the Erongo Region,” he reveals before interrupting the interview for a quick guzzle from a tiny plastic satchel containing some cheap whisky in between our conversation.
Upon completion of a teaching diploma at the St Josephs Secondary School in 1977, Alex took up employment with a local school at Otjimbingwe in the Erongo Region where he taught uninterruptedly for a solid 28 years. The former Flames attacking midfielder was not to rest on his laurels while still at the pinnacle of his blossoming football career and started his own football club at Otjimbingwe, which he baptized Young Tigers. He also turned out for Karibib’s outfit Orlando Mates FC, as a guest player whenever the need arose. After close to three decades of chalking the boards, Alex left Otjimbingwe to start a new challenge at Sesfontein where he taught for four years, before opting for early retirement because of ill health.
By Carlos ‘CK’ Kambaekwa