Spotlight on Brian Isaacs

DESPITE losing the Standard Bank Super Cup final to African Stars last weekend, Tigers coach Brian Isaacs still has an enviable record in Namibian football.

Since Namibia’s independence he has won the most Premier League titles at six, including a record four in a row with Black Africa. And then just to show that that was not a fluke, he took Tigers to their first Premier League title in 30 years last season.

Isaacs was a prodigious talent as a football player himself, but a motor car accident that nearly cost him his life, put an end to his playing career and saw him becoming a full time coach.

He was born and raised in Windhoek and from a young age his talents as a footballer shone through. He already made his mark at Gammams Primary School, being selected for the then-South West Africa (SWA) u14 schools team and when he reached Ella du Plessis Secondary School he became a key member of a team that went on to dominate schools football in the Khomas region.

“We had a very strong team and we dominated the school league at the time. We had players like Kosie Springbok, Ben Hendriks and Martin Dandu, who all became top players in Namibian football,” he said.

In his matric year Isaacs was also selected for the SWA schools team which included another future great in Frank Fredericks.

By then he had also started playing for Civics, which at the time was still a social league team, while he had his first taste of coaching with the school’s junior sides.

“Besides playing for Civics, I still played for my school and I also coached the under 14 and the under 16 teams because my principal at the time did not know a lot about football, and asked me to help out. So I guess one can say that is when the coaching bug bit,” Isaacs said.

After school, Brian continued playing for, and coaching, Civics and he soon caught the eye of Premier League giants Black Africa, who signed him up in 1989. He made an immediate impact, helping Black Africa win the Premier League title that year, as well as the NFA Cup in 1990 and at the end of the season he won the NPL Player of the Season award ahead of other greats like team mates David Snewe and Lucky Bostander.

Isaacs made his national debut for the Brave Warriors in 1992 and helped BA win the NFA Cup the following year, but by 1994 he decided to return to Civics as a player-coach after they won promotion to the Premier League.

“I wanted to help Civics to survive their first year in the Premier League and we actually ended up winning the Metropolitan Cup that season,” he said.

But disaster struck two years later when he was involved in a motor car accident about 20km outside Mariental and was thrown out of the car.

“I suffered very serious brain injuries which left me unconscious for two weeks and when I came to, I had no mobility on my left side.”

“The doctors said that I would be paralysed on my left side because of my brain injury which had damaged the nerves, and as a result I still cannot run till today,” he continued.

Isaacs was in hospital for five months and went on the long road to recovery and eventually he regained the use of his left leg and arm, but he still does not have 100 percent use of them.

“When I discovered I could not play football, I was not bitter about what had happened. Instead I was glad that I was given a new lease on life and that is when I decided to become a full-time coach,” he said.

“I did not worry about the fact that I could not play anymore, but I rather decided to make the best of the situation.”

After he recovered he attended some coaching courses in southern Africa and Germany and by 1998 was appointed assistant coach to Seth Boois for the Brave Warriors. He also coached the national u17 and u20 teams, and was later recalled as assistant coach for the Brave Warriors when they qualified for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ghana.

At club level, Isaacs took over at Orlando Pirates in 2002 and achieved immediate success, winning the NFA Cup that year, while he would later once again win the NFA Cup as well as the league title in a second stint with Pirates in 2006/07.

By 2009 he was appointed Tigers coach and took them to fourth place in the league after they had narrowly avoided relegation the previous season. His success was, however, soon forgotten when he was fired after a poor start to the next season.

Tigers’ loss, however, was Black Africa’s gain as they snapped him up as head coach and he rewarded their faith with an unparalleled run of dominance and success as they went on to win the Premier League title for the next four seasons in a row.

“It was a great experience and I had a fantastic time with Black Africa. I managed to bring out the best from the players and I also grew as a coach and learnt a lot. We had a very strong technical team and the fans’ support was also unbelievable and we all managed to take BA to greater heights,” he said.

Despite BA’s record run, Isaacs was, however, once again sacked after a poor start to the 2014 season – a decision which hurt a lot.

“I felt it was very unfair because they just fired me without discussing the matter,” he said.

Isaacs, however, had the last laugh and his undoubted coaching skills shone through when he guided Tigers to their first Premier League title this year.

“After BA released me and said I had reached the ceiling and could not take them any further, I felt I had a point to prove. I was very happy that the Heavenly Father helped me to achieve this with Tigers – it was excellent and I was glad that Tigers gave me the opportunity,” he said.

When and where were you born?

Windhoek, 17 November 1967

Where did you go to school?