Houses put bread on retired striker’s table

Having presented the country before and after independence, the Windhoek-born star who starred for Black Africa during his heyday hardly celebrated after scoring a goal.Petersen started playing organised football at MH Greef Primary School in Khomasdal.“I was first trained by the streets of Bethlehem in Khomasdal. Those were the days that we played football the whole day, and only hunger or thirst would force you to go home and drink water or eat something – just to go back and play until almost sunset.“I played for a team called Red Devils, and it grew from playing street football to playing friendlies against the Augustineum Secondary School team. Things started to happen seriously when I went to Ella du Plessis Secondary School in the late 70s,” he says.Petersen showed great talent as he even captained the school team while he was still in Standard 7 (Grade 9).It was during his Standard 9 years at Ella in 1980 that the former sharpshooter was spotted by Black Africa (BA).“The country's politics were very high at the time and my father was not happy with the idea of me joining Black Africa, because he construed them to be a Swapo team. But my aunty didn't take no for an answer and I joined BA after I returned from school in Cape Town.“I went to do my matric in Cape Town in 1981 because my father didn't want destruction around me, but I officially became a Black Africa player in 1982. My father showed his disapproval by chasing me out of his house for a month at least,” Petersen says.His father would eventually attend and enjoy every match Petersen played for BA, especially in the Metropolitan Champion of Champions Cup final, which saw him score all three as the Namibian cup champions thumped African Stars 3-0 in 1990.The former hotshot claims he played his best football at BA, and says he will never forget 1987, when BA won the NNSL League, the Mainstay Cup and the John Player Special (JPS) Cup.“We were blowing red hot that year. We won the league with an odd point against the newly promoted Chief Santos, and went on to crush Blue Waters 5-1 in the JPS Cup final, before we defeated our bitter rivals African Stars 2-0 in the Mainstay Cup finals,” he says.The retired star also attended a two-week trial spell at Moroka Swallows shortly before, but administrative glitches by the then South West Africa Football Association hierarchy robbed him of the opportunity to play professional football in South Africa.His prolific form for BA saw him being selected for the pre-independence national team that participated in the tough South African annual Currie Cup provincial tournament in Cape Town in 1986.It therefore didn't come as a surprise when the self-proclaimed fitness fanatic was also part of the first Namibian team that was assembled by Zimbabwean coach Shepherd Murape to play two friendlies against Lesotho in Maseru in 1990.“Playing against other African countries was a different ball game after many years of isolation, because our country was not independent yet. In fact, it was a rude awakening . . .“Playing Zimbabwe was tough, but playing against the Zambian team that perished in the airplane crash off the Gabonese coast was a different ball game. We were taught a thorough football lesson at the Independence Stadium and they made us chase shadows throughout the match,” he says.WORK, FAMILYPetersen has been married to wife Claudine for the past 17 years, and the couple has one child.He also has five other children from previous relationships.Petersen is currently making a living as a construction contractor and, apart from being a livestock speculator, he is also a part-time small-stock farmer in the Hardap region.“I am now a fully-fledged developer who can build your house from scratch. I will draw your house plan for you, until the final stage of handing over your keys.“I am not into the odd handyman jobs, but if I am into more serious business like building houses I can do renovations on your home as well," he says.The former football star says the construction businesses, like many others, is still recovering from the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.Petersen, who mentions his father as the person who influenced his football career the most, says although he is making a decent living out of his construction work, this is his second choice, because, being a B-licence coaching holder, he always wanted to be a football coach.“With football seeming to be getting back on track with the second Fifa Normalisation Committee, my wish is to come back to football in the near future. I can't stand and criticise from a distance. I definitely want to get involved and it will definitely be with Black Africa.“I am also a fitness trainer, and it is my short-term goal to get my A Levels,” he says.Petersen advises young footballers to take their careers seriously.“Sport can be a lifestyle today and you can reach the highest heights if you apply your mind correctly. The opportunities are in abundance now, unlike in our days, because you can live a big and interesting life today,” he says.