From Katutura to Khomasdal: Former Orlando Pirates star Romess Bock shares his journey

Windhoek-born and raised retired footballer Romess Bock says the beautiful game has saved him from the destruction of street life.

He says his uncle Simon Bock encouraged him to join a team from Khomasdal “if I wanted to further my football and academic career”.

“He believed players from Khomasdal were more serious and focused on life after football,” Bock says.

He is a product of schools football, and only started growing in leaps and bounds when he represented the under-14 team of AI Steenkamp Primary School at Katutura.

Bock didn’t play much football at Jan Jonker Afrikaner Secondary School (at Katutura), he says.

“It was during my time at JA Nel that my game improved immensely under our coach Adam Titus, who was also my mathematics teacher. I played as the sweeper of the school team and was named captain,” he says.

“We became the team to beat, first at Keetmanshoop, and later in the entire southern region. Our excellence on the football pitch was justly rewarded when we clinched the under-19 section of the Southern Region Schools Soccer Championships in 1988.”

The young Bock also turned out for the late Baby Helu’s glamorous Manchester outfit during what he calls his two “beautiful footballing years” at Keetmanshoop.

He returned to Windhoek where he continued his Standard 9 and matric (grades 11 and 12) at A Shipena Secondary School at Katutura and was soon among the winners of the coveted Central Secondary Schools Soccer Championships at the expense of Shifidi secondary in 1991.

“Apart from the school team, I also played for our location team Russian XI that also featured young stars who would later became prominent players in the Namibian Premier League – like Lolo Goraseb (Black Africa), Godzilla Uirab and Sabans Namaseb (Pirates),” Bock says.

“We played stake games in front of huge crowds in the gravel field, popularly known as Ellis Park, between Shifidi Secondary School and the Ephesians Lutheran Church in Katutura,” he says.

With some of the most talented players snapped up by various premier league teams, it was inevitable that Bock also went to play for Pirates, his family team and the team he supported growing up.

At Pirates he was fortunate enough to team up with great legends of the team, like Ben ‘Kleintjie’ Gaseb, Bandi Namaseb, and Gotty Gurirab.

“Most of those veterans were ending their illustrious careers, but I benefited massively from their input in the changeroom.

“I also had the opportunity to play great footballers at Young Ones . . ,” Bock, who has spent nine years at Young Ones, says.

Bock was eventually included in the junior national that team that did duty for the country at the Cosafa Under-20 Championships in Swaziland.

The team boasted some of the most gifted young players of their generation, with some of them, like captain Ricardo ‘Bucksy’ Mannetti, Gerros ‘The Bomber’ Uri-khob, and Richard Gariseb, going on to make their presence felt in the Brave Warriors team later on.

Bock’s good showing at the youth event impressed the national team selectors once again, and he was called up to the under-23 team that played against their Zimbabwean counterparts as part of Namibia’s independence celebrations at Independence Stadium in Windhoek.

WORK, FAMILY

The former defender and his wife, Meriam, have three children.

He currently works at a car rental business.

“I have been working at this company for nine years now, and this is really the greatest and most wonderful experience I have ever had in my career.

“We offer a wide range of premium car rental services to suit the needs of our customers, of which the majority are tourists from overseas.”

He says although it is an exciting career it is always a challenge to deal with some of customers.

Another challenge is to meet set targets, he says.

Bock says he is satisfied looking back on his football career.

“I am very happy with what I have achieved during my football career, although a little disappointed that I never got the chance to play for Namibia at the most senior, level but they say everything in life happens for a reason.”

The former star says the beautiful game made him the responsible person he is today.