Former Atlanta Chiefs striker, Alan van Harte, had the kind of looks that would not look out of place as a recognised rock star in the mould of Elvis Presley. Without an iota of doubt, Alan was one of the greatest footballers ever to emerge from the shores of our beloved land of the brave. Needless to say that he was the best ever coloured footballer of all time, the late Alan was a gifted athlete who could have gone all the way and played professional football in neigbouring South Africa, had his life not been cut shot on that fateful day when he drowned in the notorious Goreangab dam outside the city of Windhoek in January 1972 at the fairly young age of 23. Alan might not have lived long enough to unleashed his full potential on the football fields but he certainly left his a mark in the annals of domestic football. This can be attested by those who had the rare the opportunity to share the field with him including one of Namibia’s most adored footballers, Oscar ‘Silver Fox’ Mengo.
In today’s edition of our weekly feature, Tales of the Legends, New Era Sports will bring to you, our esteemed readers, a detailed review on the abbreviated life and astonishing football career of a forgotten hero, Alan van Harte.
WINDHOEK – Alan van Harte was a product of the mothercity, Cape Town, South Africa and was the eldest of three siblings born to an astute schoolteacher.
He arrived in the then South West Africa as a toddler and settled in the harbour town of Walvis-Bay at the age of seven. His old man, Paul van Harte, was instructed by the then Department of Education during the apartheid regime to head a new school in Walvis-Bay’s coloured/basters residential area, Narraville.
Soon afterwards, uncle Paul was transferred to the city of lights, Windhoek, to head the newly opened Ella Du Plessis High School in Khomasdal as principal.
Young Alan started juggling the spherical object at a fairly young age and had talent belying his tender age. Alan started playing competitive football with Khomasdal based outfit, Maritz where he played alongside the likes of Kirro Makati (Diergaardt), Bobby Sissing and some of the hood’s finest footballers.
Alan teamed up with the hippy looking Sissing, to establish what would become the best ever professionally run football club in the history of Khomasdal, Atlanta Chiefs FC. The newly formed club boasted the crème de la crème of Khomasdal led by the likes of Fred Pieterson, Lou Moller, Peter Riehl and Jan Bessinger.
With Alan as skipper, Chiefs became the toast of the township and drew large crowds to many of their exhibition matches played around the country. The wide-awake Sissing also enlisted the services of some of the leading footballers from the Katutura township that included Tigers striker Brown Amuenje as well as the dangerous African Stars trio of Oscar Mengo, Kaika Kuzee and Ben Kauejao to bolster the star-studded line up.
Chiefs undertook several tours across the Orange River to Cape Town where the team competed in high profile tournaments and acquitted themselves with distinction to the extent that talent scouts sniffed around for the signature of the highly gifted striker Alan.
Alan was your complete box to box striker who could score goals from any angles either with his head or both feet. He was extremely fast, off the mark and a damn good dribbler of the ball and above all, a team player who provided lots of assists.
The handsome looking striker was adored by young would-be footballers from both Katutura and Khomasdal townships. A boilermaker by profession, Alan was at the top of his life, working for the Windhoek Machinen Fabrik before his life was cut short at the tender age of 23.
What was initially meant to be a leisure outing with friends at the Goreangab dam ended in tragedy when Alan, a good swimmer mysteriously drowned. His death brought a premature end to the progress of his beloved Atlanta Chiefs and in his old buddy’s Bobby Sissing own words:
“I’m not quite sure whether it was premonition but Alan asked me a few days before his sudden death that I should make sure Chiefs does not go down the drain in the event he is no more. It was certainly not easy to adjust to life at Chiefs without the presence of Alan.
“He was an inspiration to all the other squad members and everybody missed his goals, charisma, and the team spirit he so dearly brought to the dressing room,” recalls Uncle Bob with tears swelling in his eyes.
While at the peak of his football career, Alan became known for his dribbling style and brutal manner in which escaped robust defenses with ease as a result of his uncanny dribbling technique. It was always common to witness defenders appearing like a disorganised flock of sheep as they ran in the wrong direction as the tricky Alan headed for goal.
The inevitable establishment of Chiefs was modeled on South African glamour football club Kaizer Chiefs as the streetwise uncle Bob recruited the likes of Tommy Ushona, Steps Nickel, Gogo Barreto, Willy Rwida, Boet Mathews, Ronald Wentzel, Jeffrey Davids, Da Costa Philemon and Purikie Vorster among a galaxy of stars.
However, a single bullet fired by a trigger-happy German national saw the expensively assembled Chiefs outfit crimple like hot cake when the outspoken Uncle Bob was shot in the abdomen in front of the Stars Hotel in Khomasdal in 1974. The shooting led to the natural death of top flight football in Khomasdal.
Nevertheless, should a decent book ever be written about the genuine legacy of Namibian football, the name of Alan van Harte, should feature prominently for he was among the finest footballers of his generation and easily ranks among the top ten best footballers of all time.
Alan, son of the soil, may your soul rest in eternal peace.
By Carlos ‘CK’ Kambaekwa