From a rock of defence to health and safety provider

GEORGE ‘Impi’ Hummel is one of the greatest players to have come from Mariental in the Hardap region.

He took his first step into the country’s premier league with Pirates.

He later joined Chief Santos and subsequently became a policeman at Tsumeb.

“I want people to remember me as a fighter. In life I have a never-give-up attitude, and to be honest, many Namibians do,” Hummel says.

Pirates’ loss certainly became Santos’ gain as the Copper Town Boys benefited immensely from the services of Hummel in the centre of the field.

It was during his successful spell at Santos that the strong midfielder with the powerful shot caught the eye of the national team selectors and that he was subsequently drafted into the formidable Brave Warriors squad.

In fact, Hummel also went on to impress in the South African professional league with the likes of Hellenic, Moroka Swallows and later Jomo Cosmos, whom he helped to regain promotion back to the top flight in 2010.

It was during his days at Hellenic under hard-to-please record league-winning coach Gavin Hunt that he was converted into a rock solid central defender.

“It has been quite a long journey after I first started playing organised football with my home-town outfit BMC at Mariental,” he says.

Hummel was called up for the national under-19 and under-23 teams before he found himself in the company of national team stars like Gerrors ‘The Bomber’ Uri-khob, Mohammed ‘Slice’ Ouseb, Berlin ‘Panco’ Augumeb, Wallace Doeseb and Eric Auseb at Santos.

The former schoolboy sprinter went on to spend three seasons at Hellenic under Hunt for three seasons, after which he followed his mentor to Moroka Swallows, before he was sold to Luch-Energy Vladivostok in Russia.

“When I joined Santos I was still playing as a striker, and because of the fitness levels of the whole team, teams find it difficult to play against us. I had to convert to a midfielder, because we had great strikers in Gerros Uri-khob and Berlin Augumeb.

“I got signed by Hellenic as a midfielder, and while we were on pre-season, coach Gavin Hunt called me into his office and told me I had the height, strength and speed to be a good defender,” he says.

Hummel, who worked in the crime investigations unit of the Namibian Police at Tsumeb, says he found it difficult to travel to Windhoek to play for Pirates, which is why he joined the three-time NFA Cup winners.

He considers the league clash against Orlando Pirates at the Oscar Norich Stadium at Tsumeb as his most memorable in a Santos shirt.

“My best match for my country was definitely the 2001 World Cup qualifier against Algeria in Algiers. I had a great game against Algeria. Although we lost, a big striker, Djamel Belmadi, who played for Olympic Marseilles at the time, was in my pocket the entire match. The next morning the Algerian media was praising my defensive ability.”

He considers the match against Egypt in Windhoek as his most memorable in the national team colours.

Egypt fielded their greatest strikers, Hossam Hassan and Mido, but only got away with a draw in the last minutes, denying the Brave Warriors of a famous win as a result.

Hummel has now retired from the game and is self-employed.

He provides his services primarily in the construction business.

“I am self-employed, but due to this Covid-19 pandemic, business isn’t so good at the moment,” he says.

He says former Eleven Arrows and Namibia Premier League boss Johnny Johnson Doeseb has helped him achieve many things in life after football.

“I am now a very proud holder of an international qualification in occupational health and safety . . . all thanks to him.

“He has really put in a lot of effort to get me educated and I am forever grateful to him,” he says.

Hummel, who is the proud father of five children, met his wife, Shandel, at Walvis Bay in 2010, and the couple got married in 2015.

Despite his busy schedule Hummel still has a passion for the game as he played social football with his former Brave Warriors teammates with a team known as Aweh-Aweh until last year, before the league was abandoned with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He was even called ‘Impi’ (Zulu for warrior) by the Beautiful Birds’ supporters, where he spent three great years, he says.

Hummel advises young players to simply look at Peter Shalulile as a role model.

“He is disciplined, committed and still going places. Also, educate yourselves. You must be employable first, and that you can achieve only if you educate yourself,” he says.