Namibia’s long history with South African football

Namibia has a long history of sending top footballers to the South African topflight, including as early as the early 1970s when Herman ‘Pele’ Blaschke was a star for newly formed Kaizer Chiefs.

He was one of several players from what was then South West Africa to grace the local league, with Hendrick Hardley setting a South African record that has yet to be broken when he scored nine goals for Lamontville Golden Arrows as they beat Richmond Junior Aces 14-0 in the 1977 Mainstay Cup.

Namibian players would later become popular in the late 1990s, not least for their undoubted skill and tough exterior, but also the fact that they could be registered as locals and so as not to take up a precious ‘foreigner’ spot.

That was due to the fact that any player born in what was then South African-administered South West Africa, and before Namibian independence in 1990, was deemed a citizen of the country and could get a passport.

Former Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronnie Kanalelo was among the first Namibians to play in the Premier Soccer League era, signing for The Brazilians in the 1997-98 campaign.

He would go on to spend seven years at Chloorkop, initially as understudy to John Tlale and others before he took the gloves as first choice in the 2002-03 season, but then just as quickly lost them for the next campaign.

Also signing in the 1997-98 season was nuggety midfielder Ricardo Mannetti, who would later have success as national team coach, leading Namibia to the Cosafa Cup title in 2015 and the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals.

He made 123 starts for Cape Town side Santos over eight seasons and was a hugely reliable campaigner.

Those two persuaded Kaizer Chiefs to enter the Namibian market and they signed a pair of players that would become stalwarts at the club, and with other teams in the PSL.

Midfielder Robert Nauseb, who had played for Windhoek side Orlando Pirates back home, and defender Mohamed Ouseb were part of the strong Chiefs side of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Hellenic then signed defender George Hummel in 2000, who would also later play for Moroka Swallows and Jomo Cosmos in almost 10 years in South Africa, and Ajax Cape Town made a less successful move for the striker Floris Diergaardt, who played just four times for the club and failed to find the back of the net.

Still they kept on coming, the next season, Black Leopards moved for cultured midfielder Quinton Jacobs, who later played for Ajax and had a spell in Europe, and Sundowns invested in tricky winger Mogale Naruseb, though he failed to really fire in two seasons at the club.

Striker Henrico Botes was another who came in and would stay for the best part of 13 years. He arrived at Moroka Swallows but also turned out for Platinum Stars, BidVest Wits and University of Pretoria. There were few tougher and reliable players in the league than him.

There was a sudden rush in the 2006-07 season as Richard Gariseb, Costa Khaiseb, Athiel Mbaha, Hartman Toromba, Ephraim Tjihonge, Sydney Plaatjies and Abisai Shiningayamwe all arrived at various clubs, though with very mixed success.

The arrival of Rudolf Bester at Maritzburg United in 2009 was one of the better signings over that period and he would later play for Pirates, as well as Lamontville Golden Arrows, Free State Stars and Swallows.

Golden Arrows signed goalkeeper Virgil Vries in 2011 and while he would later play briefly for Kaizer Chiefs, he is still going in South African football at second-tier La Masia this season, where he is first-choice.

REMARKABLE CONSISTENCY

But two big signings that would have a huge impact on the league happened after that.

Winger Deon Hotto arrived as a raw talent at Golden Arrows in the 2013-14 season and while it took him some time to adjust in a struggling team that would ultimately be relegated, he has become a topflight stalwart and one of the best players in the elite league in the last decade.

Such has been his consistency that he has only missed six DStv Premiership games out of a possible 226 since the start of the 2016/17 season. That is a remarkable statistic. Two of those games were due to suspension, so it is actually only four through injury or loss of form.

The other major arrival came two years later in 2015 when a raw young forward converted from left-back called Peter Shalulile joined Highlands Park after impressing in the Cosafa Cup.

He has since gone on to score 133 goals in 247 starts in South African and CAF football, and picked up numerous personal awards. It is fair to say there has not been a better buy in local football in the last nine years.

His record includes five seasons at Highlands Park (two in the second-tier) and three-and-a-half years with Sundowns. His 2021/22 campaign, where he netted 30 goals in all competitions, will live long in the memory.

AmaZulu left-back Riaan Hanamub is another strong performer in the local league, while young defender Lubeni Haukongo is flourishing at Cape Town Spurs and goalkeeper Lloyd Kazapua at Chippa United.

There are also several Namibians in the second-tier at present, including seasoned utility player Ananias Gebhart who has 93 appearances in South African football amassed since 2016 during spells at Jomo Cosmos and Baroka FC, where he is presently captain.

Black Leopards forward Bethuel Muzeu, who is top-scorer in the Motsepe Foundation Championship with 10 goals.

He also impressed at the Africa Cup of Nations and will surely either be in the DStv Premiership or Europe next season.

Namibian players continue to bring excellent value to South African clubs. – SuperSport.com