Ex-star defender urges youth to focus on education

FORMER senior national team left-back Warren Neidel belongs to a galaxy of top-notch left-footed fullbacks Namibia has produced over the years.

The Tsumeb-born star first played as a striker in the colours of Etosha Secondary School before he joined Nomtsoub outfit Rangers in the Northern Second Division in 1996.

He was eventually converted into a leftback when he joined high-flying Chief Santos a year later.

The former left-back enjoyed four very successful seasons at Santos during which he won two Namibian Premier League titles, two NFA Cups, and a Metropolitan Cup success.

Neidel formed a rock solid defence with Eric Aoseb, Wallace Doeseb, and the towering Puli Subeb which helped Santos become one of the most formidable defences in the league.

They kept it watertight at the back while the likes of the powerful Gerros ‘The Bomber’ Uri-khob and his nephew Ricardo Witbeen banged in the goals at will.

The Santos ship was riding high at the time – so high that Neidel jokingly says they actually became tired of their success.

BIG MONEY

The defender needed a change of scenery and was happy to secure a big-money move too tempting to resist at Katutura giants Orlando Pirates – a club he really looked forward to joining.

“Unfortunately things didn’t work out well for me and Pirates, which resulted in me staying only a few months before I moved on to the ambitious SKW, who signed some of the league’s most exciting players at the time, and it just turned out to be a master stroke,” he says.

“I regained my confidence and top form at SKW, all thanks to their excellent professional set-up. The team management there really looked after the players well, and we played our hearts out for the team. I was playing well again and Black Africa came knocking.”

The former defender got intrigued by ex-chairman Ranga Haikali’s project at the Lively Lions and agreed to join them.

The red-and-black outfit presented him with three consecutive league titles.

Neidel says the team spirit that he experienced while donning the famous red-and-black of the Lively Lions was something out of this world.

“Besides having great players, what was more mind-boggling was the beautiful spirit of unity that prevailed in the club. The players liked each other so much that it appeared they would even die for each other on the football pitch,” Neidel says.

“Who would not want to be in a team that? Despite the presence of so many stars, there was no prima donna attitude, and all the players were success-driven. We won as a team and we lost as a team, but there were no finger pointing and infights.”

The former Black Africa star spent three full seasons at Black Africa, after which he had another brief spell at the Katutura Buccaneers before he sustained a serious leg injury which forced him to go back to Tsumeb to join first-division outfit Benfica.

He then headed back to Windhoek straight into the outstretched arms of SKW.

NATIONAL TEAM

His exploits with both Santos, SKW and BA did not go unnoticed as he was deservedly called up to the senior national team and played for the Brave Warriors during their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers home and away against Algeria, Chad and Nigeria.

He made his first appearance away to Algeria in Algiers during a match in which the visitors managed to draw one-all, a rare feat for the Namibians in North Africa, and he considers that match his best ever in a Brave Warriors jersey.

FAMILY

The former football star has been married to Elizabeth Shomeya for over 13 years and has two children.

He is currently job hunting, he says.

“It ain’t easy,” he says.

“I am now only relying on the part-time contractual jobs offered by Dundee. So it’s still a stop-start situation.”

Neidel says despite his current jobless situation, he is happy with a trophy-laden career, although this does not put bread on the table.

“I am fully aware of the fact that all the medals and trophies I have won during my glittering football career will not put bread on the table for my family, but I can’t deny the fact that I had a very successful football career.

“It’s not very often that you find a player who has won five leagues and almost every other trophy available in domestic football.

“I have worked very hard to achieve that. I am currently sitting on 19 medals to confirm that,” he says.

His advice to young aspiring players is: “Stay in school and work hard to get an education. If you are educated you can make better decisions in your football career as well as in your life.”